Journey of Faith
by Kittybubbles1998
Summary: The expedition to the Great Valley is always dangerous and it's no exception for Sorrel, Hyacinth, Orchid, and Digger.
1. Chapter One: Onwards

Chapter One: Onward

 **Yay! I'm finally posting my second LBT fanfic for my** _ **Truths**_ **series. I know I said that the next one would be called Sincere Heart, but I noticed that the journey to the Great Valley is going to have a lot more in it than I was expecting.** _ **Sincere Heart**_ **will be the third book.**

A gray scaled Apatosaurus raised her head into the tree she stood next to. She gripped a dangling branch in her jaws, gently pulling at it. The branch did not come lose. Annoyed, the long necked dinosaur bit down harder, giving the branch a few good tugs. Still, it did not come lose, her attempts only showering the dinosaurs below with leaves. The female huffed, before jerking her head back with as much force as she could. This time, the branch broke away as the Apatosaurus stumbled backwards. Steadying herself, she gradually brought the large branch to the ground where a giddy Stegosaurus waited.

"Oh thank you so much, Hyacinth," the purple spiketail grinned. "I haven't eaten leaves in _forever_. You know, my most favorite food are those red fruits that grow in trees. I don't get to eat them often because their always rotten when I find them on the ground. Either the rest of the herd finds the good ones before me or some other dinosaur eats them. I really do like fruit that grows in trees. They're so tasty and there is a lot more to eat than berries and..."

Hyacinth just smiled down at Orchid as she tuned out the talkative Stegosaurus. The pair may have become close friends during their journey to retrieve Sorrel, Hyacinth's human companion, but the purple scaled female was annoying at times.

As Orchid continued to jabber about food, the Apatosaurus turned back to the tree. She took a mouthful of the nearest cluster of leaves. Slowly chewing the succulent plant matter, she swept her teal gaze over the dry desert land. At the moment, she and her companions were resting in the small oasis, readying themselves for the journey ahead. All around them was desert. Why did this tiny oasis thrive? She did not know.

Her small, mixed herd was a strange one. No member belonged to the same genus of dinosaur. One was not even a prehistoric beast. Along with herself, an Apatosaurus; there was Orchid, the Stegosaurus, a tiny female Oviraptor named Digger; and a human. They were about to start their journey to the Great Valley once the sun rose completely above the horizon. Sorrel, the young woman, sat on Hyacnith's back, while Digger was perched on a nearby rock; large green eyes watching the insects buzz pass her teal beak.

"What do you think the legendary spiketail boy will look like?" Orchid asked the human seated on Hyacinth's back. Her sporadic conversation had turned from what her mother's favorite food was, to what the legendary spiketail might like to eat, and finally to the question she just stated.

Hyacinth turned to Orchid again, then looked over at her back where Sorrel was seated. The young woman had discarded her parka, hat, and gloves days ago. In the warmer weather she no longer needed them. She now wore a simple pair of jeans, a t-shirt, hiking boots, and her large hiking backpack. Her short, blonde hair was kept out of her eyes with a leather headband that was adorned with a few dark red Archaeopteryx glued to it. It was a gift from her great-aunt, Angela. The elderly woman had given the headband to Sorrel on her twenty-first birthday, along with the golden, rune engraved ring the young woman wore on her right middle finger. The light blue stone set in the ring enabled Sorrel to travel to the dinosaur dimension and not only understand, but also speak the magnificent beasts' languages, both carnivore, herbivore and anything in-between.

"I don't know," Sorrel replied with a small shrug. "But you should keep in mind that this 'spiketail boy' could be a 'spiketail girl'."

"Sorrel's right, Orchid. The legendary spiketail could be a girl. Or they could be a different species entirely. I don't think you would want a female spikeback spiketail, or shoulderspike plateback."

Orchid rolled her eyes at the Apatosaurus. "Of course I don't want them to be a female. But I just _feel_ that the legendary spiketail is a male. And you already know that I don't care if he is a different species, as long as he's a type of spiketail. If he isn't, then we wouldn't be able to have kids and that would be pointless. I always wanted hatchlings. I don't think I could go with someone I couldn't have kids with. Sure I could adopt…"

Hyacinth let Orchid's voice fade into an almost meaningless jumble of words. She munched at the leaves of the tree, catching bits and pieces of the conversation exchanged between the Stegosaurus and human. It had turned from how much Orchid adored hatchlings to the dreams she had about the legendary herbivore children.

Most dinosaurs knew that there were five herbivore dinosaur children involved in defeating Sharptooth: a frillhead, a longneck, a plateback, a singer, and a type of flyer. They did not, however, know their sex, species, or even their coloration. That was what Orchid was blabbering on about now. She guessed what all five would possibly be and what they looked like. The last one was the plateback, whom she had a detailed description of what she thought he would look like and even act like.

The spiketail mentioned that she had many dreams about him. He was always a plateback spiketail, just like her. Most of the time, in her dreams, he was a red color with darker swirl-like markings on his side. His plates were dark red, almost black. His eyes would be blue, like that of a large lake and so beautiful that she could just drown in them. He would have many scars from the battle with Sharptooth and his name would be Oak. As for his personality, he would be brave and strong-willed. Oak would protect her from anything and comfort her whenever she was sad. He would be the perfect mate.

Orchid sighed happily as she finished her dream telling. "I really hope he's like that. It would be amazing. We could make the perfect family. Oak and my kids could play with Hyacinth and Cirrus's kids?"

"What?" Hyacinth asked, drawn to her friend's words. "Cirrus?"

"Yeah. The longneck. I'm pretty sure that one is male too. He's a flathead longneck like you too. I envision him being pale gray, almost white with a darker back, and golden eyes. You know, like most longnecks. You two would be perfect together. I can just see it, our children playing together in the meadows of the Great Valley. I can't wait until we get there. It'll be so awesome and we can become friends with the other legendary children. Well, they're adolescents, like us, now. We'll be famous. I wonder what the singer will be like? I think she'll be really pretty, like a gemstone. And then the hornface will be a big strong male who can calm Impale down when she gets angry. The flyer has to be a girl then. She's brave and can fly far and do tons of stunts."

Hyacinth just rolled her eyes at the blabbering Stegosaurus. They both would just have to wait and see if Orchid's predictions were right. Orchid had brought up the topic of Impale. She was a threehorn that Hyacinth and Orchid met along their journey to find Sorrel. She had lost her left horn and part of her frill to Frozen Wasteland, the terror of the north. Impale had left them only a few days after finding Sorrel in the territory of a pack of friendly Utahraptors. During that time, Impale had also lost her right eye to one of the raptors.

The Apatosaurus shook her head at Orchid, whom was now talking about the other adventures rumored to have happened to the legendary five. This one including the impossible idea of them catching a carnivore within the walls of the Great Valley. Smiling, Hyacinth turned to the human on her back. Sensing her gaze on her, Sorrel looked up, giving the longneck a warm smile. Hyacinth returned the smile before turning back to continue eating.

Sorrel gazed out at the desert land, just like Hyacinth had done minutes before. She had already eaten her fill of fruit and a few small rodents she had caught and cooked over a small fire, earlier. The young woman knew that soon she and her dinosaur friends would start their journey to the Great Valley. From stories told by Orchid, she realized that this place was only known by rumors, and because of this, there was a great possibility that this valley paradise did not exist. But, like Orchid believed the spiketail of the legendary five was male, Sorrel believed that the Great Valley was real. Why else would her great-aunt, the one that took care of Hyacinth since she was an infant, want her to find it?

"Something wrong?" Hyacinth asked, having noticed the human's sudden quietness.

"No…I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"Aunty Angie. It's been bothering me for the past few days. She told Ice Flame that we should go to the Great Valley. Not me or you. She gave me this ring to travel to this dimension to find you, and she even raised you, yet she told neither of us about this plan. I don't understand why she wouldn't have at least mentioned it to you."

"Maybe she told him about her plans beforehand. Like when she was with the raptors. She probably just did not want to worry me with needing to get to the Great Valley after I found you. She always liked taking one step at a time." Hyacinth then lowered her head to Sorrel, giving the young woman a light nuzzle. "It's not like she was hiding anything from us."

"Yeah. You're right, Hyacinth," Sorrel said. "I'm just worrying myself about this. The young woman shook her head at the thoughts crowding her mind. So much had happened over the past few weeks since she had arrived in the dinosaur dimension. She had met so many new faces and numerous, terrifying events had happened already. She could not even fathom what lay ahead. Either way, she could not wait to start the voyage.

"I should go get Digger," Sorrel mumbled, standing up.

At the young woman's words, Hyacinth began lowering her head to the ground, allowing Sorrel to skillfully climb down it before she hopped off. Turning around to give Hyacinth a nod of thanks, the young woman ran off to the tiny Oviraptor still preached on the rock.

"Come on, Digger," Sorrel called out. "We'll be leaving soon."

The omnivorous dinosaur looked up from the rock. She snapped at a large beetle flying a bit too close to her face. Her teal beak made quick work of the large insect, shell crunching and a wing sticking out of the side of her mouth. Swallowing the little meal, the mauve feathered dinosaur hopped off the rock, trotting up to Sorrel.

The woman grinned at Digger, picking up the housecat sized Oviraptor. She may have been an adolescent, but she was tiny for her age. Much smaller than she should be. It did not seem to bother the black and dull pink feathered dinosaur though.

Sorrel ran a thumb along Digger's cobalt crest, repeatedly rubbing the crack along its length. The tiny omnivore had received it in a skirmished with an Utahraptor named Shadow Watcher. He was part of the pack that took care of Sorrel while she waited for Hyacinth to arrive. She and Shadow Watcher had quickly become friends over the days she knew him. He had attacked Digger over a misunderstanding over his younger sister's egg. In the end, everything was resolved.

Patting Digger on the head, Sorrel walked back to Hyacinth. The Apatosaurus had already lowered her neck to the ground. The young woman quickly climbed onto Hyacinth's head, sliding down to the juncture of her neck and shoulders. Getting herself situated, Sorrel let Digger lay in her lap. The young woman took in a deep breath of air as Hyacinth raised her head to the sky.

"Should we start?" the gray scaled longneck asked.

"Yes! I can't wait to see my Oak!" Orchid shouted. The Stegosaurs began walking forward out into the desert. She glanced over her shoulder, grinning at the other three. "Come on! Let's get going!"

Hyacinth glanced to Sorrel before she began to move, her lumbering body swaying back and forth with each step. The purple Stegosaurs stood where she was, wiggling with excitement. "Each step brings us closer to the legendary children. Oak, here I come!" She shouted, almost dancing with enthusiasm of the journey ahead.

"We have to make it to the Great Valley first, Orchid," Hyacinth said, smiling down at her friend. "And I have a feeling it's going to be dangerous."

"Do you guys even know the way to the Great Valley?" Digger asked.

"Umm…" Hyacinth stride stuttered, jolting the two passengers on her back. She looked to the rising sun before she turned to her back. Sorrel shook her head as she shrugged her shoulders. Orchid had also stopped her jittery dance, her mood dampening.

"You don't, do you," Digger stated, rolling her green eyes. "So how are we going to get this this 'Great Valley' when we don't even know the way?"

 **Dacentrurus: Spikeback spiketail**

 **Lexovisaurus: Shoulderspike plateback**

 **Ceratopsian: Hornface/frillhead**

 **Plated dinos (Stegosaurs-like): Plateback/spiketail**

 **Hadrosaurus: Singer (Swimmer makes no sense since Hadrosaurus are not known to be aquatic.**

 **Bigmouth made some sense, but I liked singer best since that is what Hadrosaurus are**

 **known for)**

 **The updates won't be as often as my first book since I do have a creative writing class this semester and want to keep my grades up. I also would like to keep working on my original books, so updates will be a bit more sporadic.**

 **Characters from readers are always welcome. PM me if you want your character in my book.**

 **Digger was created by** **Marblesaurus on**


	2. Chapter Two: Story Telling

Chapter Two: Story Telling

West. Follow the setting sun. That was where the Great Valley laid.

Hyacinth remembered a conversation between her and Angela long ago about the Great Valley. All she could remember about the exchange was that to get to the Great Valley, the herd had to follow the setting sun. Therefore, they did, with the aid of Sorrel's compass.

The tiny herd traveled in relative comfort for several days. They did not take many stops during the day, most of the time eating and drinking their fill during the night. Luckily, they had come across enough food to sustain them and any predators they encountered were small enough for Hyacinth and Orchid to chase off.

Hyacinth lead the small herd. Her knowledge of the landscape allowing them to avoid any danger. She and Angela use to transvers this terrain every year to watch the annual migration of the mountain dwelling pterosaurs. Would she ever take the journey again and see the large pterosaurs, now that Angela had passed on? Maybe she could continue the tradition with Sorrel…

At the moment, the tiny herd was telling stories of their past adventures. Orchid was nearing the end of her own story. It was about Pebble, a childhood friend, and her playing hide-and-seek with her little brother, Moss.

"Then Pebble and I ran into this super dark cave. No one could fine us. It was super funny watching the adults look for us. They had no idea where we were. They would look in once place then call out our names. They were looking under bushes and roots but they never thought we would hide in that big scary cave. It was so funny! But then…my little brother, Moss, started crying. I felt so bad when I figured out it was him. Normally I can't stand when hatchlings cry and I just want to comfort them, but knowing it was my little brother. I had to come out of the cave. I couldn't let him be sad that his big sister was missing. He just wanted to play with me and he was scared that he would never see me again when the adults couldn't find me and Pebble. So, I ran out of the cave and roared at him like a sharptooth. He screamed until he noticed it was me. Moss was so happy to see me, even though Pebble and I had been hiding only for a little bit." As Orchid's long winded story came to its end, she gave a sad sigh. "I really wish that my sister and Pebble were still alive."

The purple Stegosaur's nest mate had died from an illness a few seasons ago. Frozen Wasteland, more commonly known by herbivores as Coldbreath, had killed her best friend, Pebble. She had liked staying in the back of the herd, even when her parents told her not to. Orchid was always at her side, until one day, Pebbled paid for her mistake. Frozen Wasteland was stalking nearby and had targeted her as the weakest of the herd, killing her. He had flipped her over and dug into her soft belly, tearing her inners out before any of the herd members could do anything.

As of a few seasons ago, Frozen Wasteland had become known as the Walking Terror of the North. He shared a similar title with Sharptooth, the Walking Terror of the Mysterious Beyond. However, the dark green behemoth was long since dead, only surviving in legends told in hushed whispers. Still, it seemed that other large carnivores were rising in power, becoming legends themselves.

There was Jungle Fang, a green slicingfang known for his ridged spine. Rumors Digger heard while living in a costal tropical region, said that he was near the area where she was living. He was taking down large herbivores to show his dominance in the area. His reputation was slowly becoming worse than Sharptooth's in the tropical area.

Then, there was Redclaw. A large bonecrusher that patrolled the perimeters of the Great Valley. He was joined by a pair of featherless sickleclaws, a brother and sister. They worked with him. However, they were not meant to help bring down prey, like most herbivores believed. Redclaw may be past his prime, but he could still hunt as well as any other carnivore, if not better. No, his Utahraptor companions brought down his enemies, killing their hatchlings and loved ones in their sleep when he could not.

Lastly, there was rumors of Sharptooth's three children. Not much was known about them, but most believed they were still out there, waiting to attack the five herbivores children who killed their father. Many stories thought they would be as large and fearsome as their father and possess the supernatural strength that he did.

Sharptooth's strength and size were only a few of his horrifying traits. He was known to jump heights and lengths no other carnivore his size could. His relentless pursuit of one herbivore for days on end lead many to think of him as crazy. His resilience to withstand almost any attack horrified any who had battled him. That was, until the five herbivore children pushed a boulder on top of his head, killing him before he could even drown in the dark blue abyss below him. Still, many that know of Mythcarriers, dinosaurs with supernatural abilities, believe that he was a Scarcarrier, one whose dormant power is activated by a rune carved into the flesh. But, as of now, no one knows for sure, other than his remaining family.

"Hyacinth," Sorrel spoke up from the Apatosaurus's back. "It's your turn to tell a story."

The longneck glanced to her human companion and smiled. She then turned to the setting sun they were following. She could not tell anything too scary as there were always predators lurking and she did not need her friends panicking. She also did not want to tell anything that seemed boring, since her friend's stories had been intriguing. Hyacinth turned back to Sorrel and the idea for her story came to mind. "How about I tell you about how my mother and I found the stone that is in Sorrel's ring and our encounter with a pack of curveteeth."

"Curveteeth?" Orchid asked, cocking her head to one side, curiosity instantly swirling within her brown eyes. "What are those?"

"They're sharpteeth," Hyacinth grinned before she began her story.

***Flashback***

"Let's stop here for a drink, Hyacinth," an elderly woman spoke atop a gray scaled Apatosaurus.

A much younger and much smaller Hyacinth stopped at the riverside, waiting for her human caretaker to dismount. Angela slipped off the horse-sized sauropod, patting her warm gray scales as she walked up to the flowing water. Kneeling down, the elderly woman cupped her hands and dipped them into the cool water. Bringing them back out, she sipped the clear liquid.

Hyacinth watched Angela drink for a moment. It always interested her to watch thinskins. Even being cared for by one for all her life, Angela still had many surprise. The way she walked and drank, the extensive knowledge she knew…it amazed the young Apatosaurus. Gradually, Hyacinth lowered her head to the cool water and drank alongside her adoptive mother.

As her thirst was quenched, Hyacinth dunked her head into the water. She gripped the thick leaves of a river plant growing in the fertile riverbed with her teeth. Jerking her head out of the water, she pulled the aquatic plant with her.

"Look, Hyacinth," Angela gasped, pointing at something in the water.

Chewing her plant, the Apatosaurus lowered her head to the river again. Her teal eyes searched for the object her caregiver had pointed out. She could not find it until a silver fish flashed past her sight. It suddenly leaped out of the water, hitting her in the side of the face with its tail. At the surprise and flash of pain, Hyacinth dropped her plant. "Hey!" she shouted at the fish as it landed back into the water. "You made me drop my food!"

Irritated, she dove her head back into the water to grab the half-eaten plant, only to spot something shiny from the corner of her eye. Pulling her head out of the water, Hyacinth looked at the object. It was a light blue crystal wedged between two rocks in the river. It was about the size of Angela's eye and jagged in shape.

"Is that…?" Hyacinth asked, raising her head away from the dancing water. "Is that a piece from the comet? The Stone of Cold Fire those rainbow…er…Gallimimus told us about?"

"Yes it is, Hyacinth," Angela said as she reached out for the stone. "It must have broken off when the comet flew overhead last night. She smiled, tracing her fingers over the water just beyond where the blue crystal lied. The elderly woman then gazed toward the towering mountain, shaped like a Triceratops's head. That was where the stone had collided. She gave a soft chuckle before raising to her feet.

Hyacinth watched Angela. The elderly woman leaned against her companion's side, grumbling about her joints and back. The Apatosaurus looked back to the water. Lowering her head to it, she stared at the light blue crystal, recalling how fascinated her caretaker had been when they talked to the two Gallimimus about the strange space rock.

Without a moment more of hesitation, Hyacinth dove her head into the water. Through the watery haze, she spotted the jagged crustal. Stretching her neck out forward, she carefully gripped it with her teeth. She was careful not to brush her tongue over the sharp edges, which could easily cut it. Pulling her head out of the water, the Apatosaurus turned to Angela, the blue crystal carefully gripped between her teeth.

Angela grinned up at the sauropod, stroking her gray scales. "Hyacinth! Thank you. You didn't have to do that, my dear."

"I know," she said, dropping the stone into her caretaker's open hand. "But I saw how interested you were in it this morning when you were talking with the Gallimimus. It wasn't hard to get."

The elderly woman continued to smile down at the stone. She watched the sun dance across its surface with the simplest of movements. The long legged runners knew what they were talking about. This was defiantly a piece from the Stone of Cold Fire. It was the same color as the sky on a clear summer day. If felt cool to the touch, even during this hot summer day. It radiated a strange aura, even without the runes, enabling a human to travel back and forth between dimensions, carved into it. This stone also possessed other powers than just dimension traveling.

"Just to make sure…" the elderly woman muttered to herself. She set the stone down beside her feet. She then unhooked her necklace. Slipping the simple chain and pendent away from her chest, she placed it on the ground. She smiled at Hyacinth. "Speak to me."

The Apatosaurus started at her as if she had grown an extra head. Angela laughed at the child. Shaking her head, she picked up the stone Hyacinth had just pulled from the river. "Can you understand me now?"

"Yes. What did you do? Why did you take off your necklace?"

"Just testing to make sure this is a Stone of Cold Fire." Angela placed the stone back onto the ground and clipped her necklaced around her neck again. Taking the jagged stone in her hand once more, she smiled down at it. "I'm sure my great-nice would love this. I'm always telling her stories about you. I know she wants to meet you someday."

"Another human?" Hyacinth exclaimed.

Angela nodded, dark brown eyes still locked on the light blue crystal in her hand. "We'll have to go visit an old friend of mine, too. I haven't seen him for a long time now…I wonder how he's doing?"

"Who is he?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough."

Hisses suddenly filled the air, causing the pair to freeze. Hyacinth craned her neck to stare at the tall grasses that grew around the riverbed. Wicked, scaly jaws peeked out of the lush plant growth. The long curved teeth of the front half of the jaws were like mismatched scissor blades. The owner of the jaws took another stepped forward, his yellow eyes locked on the sauropod child and elderly thinskin. He took another step forward, hissing to his three companions still hidden in the long grass.

"Curveteeth," Hyacinth whimpered. "The rainbow faces told use about them." She lowered herself to the ground, cowering at the sight of such terrifying predators.

"Masiakasaurus," Angela corrected, bring the jagged piece of the Stone of Cold Fire closer to her chest. "Their mainly fish eaters with teeth like that. They won't harm us, food wise. I have a feeling they don't want us here. Come, Hyacinth. Let's go before they think of doing something other than staring us down."

"Where do you think you're going thinskin?" the thick surly voice of the male asked. He was hard to understand as the long teeth in front of his mouth jutted outwards, disabling him from pronouncing many of his carnivore growls and hisses correctly.

"Nothing," Angela replied curtly. "My longneck friend and I were just getting a drink. We'll be on our way now."

"You won't be going anywhere," the male hissed. His three pack members quickly darted out from the riverbed grasses, hissing at Hyacinth and Angela. The sauropod instantly froze at the sight of the three Masiakasaurus and their wicked teeth. Only a small whimper emitted from her as the trio circled them, their leader looking on as he growled.

"What did the longneck pull out of our river?"

"Only a simple stone. She thought it was pretty. She gave it to me to hold onto since she can't."

The dull green scaled leader stepped forward, hissing at the elderly woman. "Liar! She stole something from our river. Aster Scar saw the rock fly over this area. Fragments could have fell from it. I know you thinskins value those stones. Give it back!"

Angela did not reply to the Masiakasaurus, only hauling herself atop Hyacinth's back. "Run, Hyacinth! Run!"

With her caretaker on her back, the gray scaled Apatosaurus suddenly reared up with a shriek of fright, her forelegs flailing in the air. As she crashed to the ground, one of her large two claws caught the closest female Masiakasaurus in the snot, dislodging a few of her long curved teeth. Blood flowed from the gash on her nose and the gaping holes where three of her lower teeth were seconds ago. A few of her other teeth were obviously loose. The male companion came to her aid, instantly lapping at the wound on her scaly aqua snout.

With two of the three distracted, Hyacinth ran for it. The other female quickly followed suite, snapping at the horse-sized sauropod's heels. The Apatosaurus could feel her chest clench with fear as she heard the dull yellow scaled Masiakasaurus snap her wicked teeth at her tail and feet.

"Hyacinth, focus ahead," Angela shouted, watching the vicious female curvetooth. The elderly woman turned her body around so that she was facing the carnivore. Her right hand gipped the light blue pendent that hung from the thin sliver chain of her necklace, while the left clung tightly to the sauropod's back. Bringing it to her lips, she whispered, "Please, let this work, please." She then began to mumble strange words under her breath that neither herbivore nor carnivore could understand. It was a strange rough, yet airy whisper filled with hisses, growls, and grunts of an ancient language rarely used by even the creators.

Angela shouted her last word, uncovering the pendant. A pair of runes on each side of the light blue stone glowed with a soft light before it suddenly burst from the stone. The yellow scaled Masiakasaurus slowed her chase, dark green eyes narrowed at the glowing runes carved into the crystal.

"What are you doing, Dry Reed?" the male who had been cleaning his companion's wounds shouted. He had sprinted forward to help give chase, his teal body quickly closing in on Hyacinth's tail. He opened his jaws wide, ready to snap down on the gray scaled tail only inches away from his long curved teeth.

"River Fly! Stop!" Dry Reed shouted, her dull yellow form almost hidden within the yellow-green plants growing by the muddy riverbed. "You're going to lose your sight!"

Her warning came too late. River Fly cried out in pain as a bright flash filled the air. He stumbled forward, falling over his feet and stumbling to the soft grasses. The teal Masiakasaurus lay where he fell, blood slowly oozing from his closed eyes, running down his scaly cheeks like bloody tears. The Stone of Cold Fire had burn his eyes. It took his eyesight. He was blind.

"Brother!" the aqua scaled female cried as he watched the male collapse. She rushed from her spot, the dull green leader trying to stop her. Her staunched wounds would start bleeding again. She did not care. That was her brother. Her nestmate. "Brother!" She yelled out again, running up beside him. "River fly!"

"Sister…" the male mumbled, turning his head in the direction of the soft female voice. "It hurts. My eyes…they hurt. I can't…see…"

The aqua female nuzzled her brother, consequently smearing her blood from the deep wounds in her gums over his dark blue-green scales. Neither cared, both hurting from the pain of their wounds. The leader slowly walked up beside them, yellow eyes narrowed down at River Fly. He raised his gaze to the fading form of Hyacinth, Angela riding atop her back.

"Maybe thinskins are more powerful than I thought…"

"How did that work?" Orchid asked. "What was it, in Angela's necklace? Those curveteeth sound really cool. I wouldn't want to meet those particular ones, but maybe a friendlier group, like those raptors we met when we picked up Sorrel."

"I never really asked Angela about it afterwards, I was just happy that we escaped…" Hyacinth answered.

"Do you think the stone in my ring could do the same thing?" Sorrel asked, raising her fair, slender hand to Hyacinth.

The Apatosaurus peered at the ring, teal eyes narrowed at the delicate piece of jewelry. "I don't know… I can't remember what all those markings looked like on Angela's stone. I would think so."

Sorrel hummed in thought, drawing her hand back. She gazed at the golden ring, naming some of the runes carved in the stone and golden metal. She only recognized a few of the about dozen etchings. There was the familiar dimension traveling rune carve in most of the stone of her ring. The four smaller runes on each side of the now spherical crystal, she had no idea.

"You would still have to learn those words Angela was saying," Digger spoke up, knowing what Sorrel was thinking of.

"Yeah…" Sorrel sighed, twisted the golden ring on her middle right finger. As she looked away from her ring, she gazed out at the dry lands the tiny herd was traveling. She could make out the forms of other, larger herbivore herds in the distance. Most stayed in their own groups, not mixing with other herds.

The young woman swept her dark brown eyes to the other side of Hyacinth. Through the dim light of the setting sun, she could make out a large form of a lone herbivore. It was bright orange and appeared to be casually moving. "Hey," Sorrel spoke, pointing a slender hand toward the dinosaur. Maybe we could stay with that one tonight. I'm sure it's not safe to be alone after dark, when the carnivores are out."

"Sure! Let's go," Orchid shouted, trotting at a faster pace to reach the bright orange dinosaur. Soon enough, the tiny herd was standing in front of a male Triceratops. A small clump of plants hung from his beaked mouth as he glanced up. His dark brown eyes swept curiously over the unusual group for a moment before turning back to his late meal. "Yes?"

"Umm," Hyacinth glanced to Sorrel, then to Orchid. "We were hoping we could keep you company tonight, if you wouldn't mind. It's dangerous to be alone out here at night."

"Really?" the male asked. "Been sleeping alone for seasons and still standing here. Seems like you just want an extra set of defense."

"Well," Orchid stepped forward. "Does it matter? We're staying and you can't make us leave." With her words, the purple Stegosaurus laid down on the ground, brown eyes daring the Triceratops to even touch her. Her tail was at the ready, the creamy color spike thagomizer ready to strike him if he dared charge her.

"You traveling to the Great Valley?"

"What?" Orchid asked, surprised at the question.

"Are the lot of you going to the Great Valley?" the male repeated.

"Yes, we are," Hyacinth answered, glancing unsurely to the young woman now standing on her back.

"Well, you're in luck. I happen to know the way and you get an extra protector. Don't think a sauropod like you can do much, nor can that...thinskin and crestbeak."

Hyacinth felt a slight pinch of defensiveness for her ability to keep her small herd safe, but said nothing. She instead laid down on the dusty, sunbaked ground. It was still warm from the late afternoon heat and felt nice on her tired body. She felt Sorrel slip off her body, Digger still in her arms. The young woman seated herself in front of the Apatosaurus's head, watching as the bright orange Triceratops continued his feast.

 **Slicingfang: Giganotosaurus**

 **Curveteeth: Masiakasaurus**

 **Large Bonecrusher: Tyrannosaurus rex**


	3. Chapter Three: Past Remebered

Chapter Three: Past Remembered

"So you know how to get to the Great Valley?" Orchid asked the Triceratops. He slowly chewed his mouthful of leaves, an unenthused expression playing on his face. He could tell this spiketail would be annoying. The way she talked with a high-pitched girly voice, the way she wiggled with enthusiasm at almost everything she said, and the way she blabbered on and on.

"Like the exact way?" the purple spiketail continued. "Because we don't. See, we are going to the Great Valley because Hyacinth's, the longneck, mother, who is actually a thinskin, told her to go to the Great Valley. Well, her mother didn't actually tell her, Angela died a while ago, before I even met Hyacinth and we've been friends for a long time now. The thinskin sitting on her back is Sorrel; she's Angela's great-niece. Angela told Hyacinth to find her in the northern lands in a cave where big sickleclaws live. We found her and here she is! Anyway, we don't know the way to the Great Valley and we were just kind of wandering. We know it is towards the west, but don't know any of the landmarks or if we are supposed to turn or anything. We are going there to meet the legendary five herbivore children. I-"

"Okay, okay, spiketail. I get it," the brightly color Triceratops rolled his eyes. "I know the way to the Great Valley. Don't worry about it." He moved to another, low growing shrub. Chomping down on it, he continued to graze.

After a long moment, he turned to the females. They were still awkwardly standing where they were, unsure what to do. "You girls can eat. Just dig." He scraped a forepaw across the ground near the plant he was feeding on, drawing a large pile of hard dirt back to revealing a large tuber.

At the sight of the starch-filled root, Sorrel tapped Hyacinth. The Apatosaurus lowered herself to the ground, allowing her human companion to slip off and walked over to the tuber. Kneeling down next to it, Sorrel began to dig around the tuber with her hands, the Triceratops curiously watching her as he munch on his leaves. Soon enough, the young woman had the large root pulled out of the ground. Grinning at the root, she turned to the bright orange scaled herbivore beside her. "Thank you."

The young woman then brushed away most of the loose dirt before placing it on the ground. She took her metal canteen from her hip. Unscrewing the cap, she poured a small amount of water onto the tuber, washing away the rest of the dirt from a small portion of the starchy root.

"What's your name?" Sorrel asked as she screwed the cap back onto her canteen.

"Flame," he answered. He then glanced to the three other dinosaurs behind him. Letting out a soft huff, he dug up another tuber belonging to the plant he was feeding on. With the root uncovered, he dug his nose horn into the earth, popping the large morsel of food out of the hard, cracked ground. He pushed it to Hyacinth. He was about to uncover another root only to noticed that Orchid was already feasting on another low growing bush nearby. He rolled his eyes at her before returning to his own shrub. "The crestbreak can share with the thinskin." He muttered before clamping his boney beak-like jaws down on a thick branch.

"Yeah. Come on over here, Digger." Sorrel waved over the mauve Oviraptor, her rune engraved knife now in hand.

Digger ambled towards the young woman, eyeing the tuber the thinskin was cutting up. Sorrel cut away the washed part, placing the rest of the root onto the ground. She then sliced the smaller chunk into bite-sized pieces for her and the Oviraptor. The short-haired, blonde female then placed a handful of the pale yellow chunks in front of Digger before she bit into her slightly larger piece. Sorrel was pleasantly surprised at the sweet taste that flooded her mouth. She could tell that Digger thought the same. The tiny omnivore was stuffing the pale yellow, almost white chucks of root into her mouth one after another. She barely chewed them, swallowing most of them whole.

"Slow down Digger," Sorrel giggled. "Or you're going to chock or get sick."

The little female stopped for a moment, looking up at the young woman with her big green eyes. She then glanced down at the next chunk of tuber held in her black paws. "This is the best thing I've had since we've started this journey. It tastes a bit like food from my homeland."

"Where is your homeland?" Orchid asked; a mouthful of waxy yellow-green leaves causing the Stegosaurus' words to be muffled.

"In the tropics. On an island." Digger popped the chunk into her mouth before changing the subject. "Why are you going to the Great Valley, threehorn?"

"Yeah, why are you?" Orchid jumped in, wiggling with curiosity. She began coughing on her mouthful of leaves. Everyone watched her in awkward silence. Soon enough, she regained her composer and began rambling. "Me and my herd are here because Hyacinth's mother told her to go there. Well, actually a large sickleclaw named Ice Flame told us. I think Hyacinth's mom told him about it before she died. She was with the raptors or something before she died. I'm really hoping to see the spiketail of the legendary children who killed Sharptooth, the Walking Terror of the Mysterious Beyond. Do you think he is the same type of spiketail like me? My friends keep saying he might be a she and that he might be something completely different than me, but I just feel that he is a he and that he is the same type as me. I also really think that the longneck is a flathead like Hyacinth and he is a he and not a she. I think Hyacinth should get together with him, what do you think?"

Flame blinked at the words rushing out of the purple Stegosaurus' mouth. She had just repeated her story from minutes ago and then went on to explain her crush on a spiketail that possibly did not even exist. He shook his head at Orchid, turning to Digger, answering the Oviraptor's question. "To see my younger brother, Topps."

"So the Great Valley is real?" Orchid asked, trembling with excitement, not at all upset that he had not addressed her directly when he answered the previous question. "I knew it was real, but thought it might not be. You know all the legends about it being a paradise and no sharpteeth can get through? We had a threehorn traveling with us that told us that it did not exist. I didn't believe her, but you know, sometimes you second guess yourself. Is there anyone else you are visiting in the Great Valley? I'm sure there is. You can't be just seeing your brother. Does he have a mate? Does he have kids? Are they little hatchings? I would love to play with little threehorn hatchlings. They're so cute when they're young. I only saw some from farther away when I was younger and my herd was traveling to warmer lands to feed since it had been a really, really bad winter. That's when-"

"He does have a mate and children, last I have heard," Flame interrupted the blabbering spiketail. "There might be hatchlings. Ash's second clutch would be around your age. That is, if they survived." His gaze turned up to the calm longneck. Addressing Hyacinth, the threehorn continued. "Her first clutch may already have children. I don't know if she had anymore after she and Topps reached the Great Valley. I would think so."

"Hatchlings!" Orchid shouted. "I can't wait to meet some. They're so cute. I really, really want to have some of my own. I just can't find the right spiketail. I really hope the legendary spiketail isn't already taken. We will have the cutest of babies!"

Flame rolled his dark brown eyes at the Stegosaurus before laying down. His pale gray color underside was a great contrast with the rest of his bright orange hide and brown back stipe. The sun was almost below the horizon, only a few rays escaping over it. He watched the last rays of sunlight fade into darkness before looking up at the twinkling stars.

"Weren't you with your herd when your brother's children hatched?" Hyacinth asked, also laying down on the hard, yet warm ground. She had finished the starchy root he had dug up for her a while ago. "Most families stay together, don't they?"

"You're not with a herd of longnecks, are you?"

"I was raised by a thinskin. My adoptive mother, Angela, said that she rescued me from an eggstealer. She said that I had probably just hatch and was stolen away from my nest."

Flame huffed. "I left my herd as soon as I could. My father, the leader, was harsh and over bearing. He had strict rules, severe punishments, and was a bit of a tyrant. My mother wasn't much better. I know they loved me but…I wasn't the favorite, not by a long shot." Flame sighed, resting his head on the ground as he watched a small herd in the distance. "I fear that Topps has taken to our parents' ways. Then again, most hornfaces are like my brother. Too prideful for their own good."

"You're not prideful?" Digger asked, a feathered eye ridge raised.

Flame chuckled at her question. "I don't think so, at least not as bad as most. I've learn to hate my prideful kind. Just…watching my family, the herd. Pride was their downfall. Thought they could take down five slicingclaws, the biggest dryland carnivore around. Along with numerous sickleclaws and serval ridgeeyes… Their fate was decide the instance they faced the sharpteeth for battle."

"Almost your entire herd was killed?" Sorrel asked softly, fiddling absently with her knife. "How many of your relatives did you lose? How did you find out?"

Flame looked away from the young woman, dark brown eyes staring shamefully out at the desert landscape that surrounded them. "I was visiting my brothers, sisters, and their children. While I was with my eldest brother and nestmate, Stone, I noticed figures on the horizon. I could tell by their shapes, the way they stalked, they were sharpteeth and they were hungry. I told Stone to get the herd to run, but he didn't listen. I began running around, telling everyone to run, that there were predators on the horizon. No one listened. They were too prideful or loyal to their leader, my father. I couldn't get even one to run away with me, not even my own siblings. Even when I told them their children's lives were at stake. They thought they could protect them. So…I just ran…like a coward. But it was the best thing to do. I remember Topps calling me a coward, a weakling as I ran. He said that he would never forget what I did. I ignored him. I wasn't going to watch my herd be slayed."

"Who did you lose?" Orchid asked in a quiet voice.

"Stone, the future leader of the herd along with my two younger sisters, Topps' nestmates. I also lost several nieces and nephews, most from my fallen siblings."

"You knew all this how, if you ran away?" Digger asked. The small Oviraptor was resting under a low growing shrub, Sorrel sitting next to the small omnivore.

"I did, but then I came back the next night. I knew there might be predator's still hanging around the dead, but they would be too full to care about me. I found the bodies…"

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sorrel spoke, sympathy lacing her words. She stood up from her spot on the ground to wrap her arms around the brightly orange scaled Triceratops' neck. "I know you'll meet your brother in the Great Valley. I'll make sure of it." She pulled away, smiling down at the threehorn.

"Thank you, but the past doesn't hurt as much as it used to. It has been almost sixteen years since the incident. I am looking forward to seeing my younger brother, his mate, and all their children. Well…more like their children. I'm sure Topps still holds resentment towards me for that day. He was always a grudge holder."

"Did you ever have a mate?" Orchid asked.

"No… I courted a few females, but none were interested in me. I may have been the son of the leader, but females preferred my brothers' gray hide, the same as my father. I wasn't the best of fighters either. Lost most of my battles. But…there was this one female…however; she was already taken before I could even think about courting her."

"Who was she?" Orchid leaned forward, brown eyes wide, ready for the dramatic love story between two star-crossed lovers.

Flame just shook his head. "It doesn't matter. She's mated with children of her own. I would never dare take a female away from another male. Not only is it an un-honorable thing to do, I would surely be killed for it."

"Maybe you could be reunited with her. I'm sure she just wasn't thinking when she got together with the other male. You're actually really nice, for a frillhead. Once she sees you again, she'll want to be with you. She'll dump her mate and go for you and you can have a bunch of pretty little hatchlings. I can just see it, the perfect love story." Orchid began to prance around as much as an animal her size could. She hummed a happy song as she danced to the nearest tree.

The orange Triceratops rolled his eyes at the Stegosaurs before sighing again. "No…that can't happen. She wouldn't leave the male she's with. I'm sure she loved him all along, not me." Even though he said these words, he knew he was lying to himself. He and his Beauty were madly in love. He could remember the endless hours they spent in the crystal caves or under the waterfalls of their childhood home in the mountains. It was just…another, stronger, more valued male had his lustful eyes on her. The female threehorn's parents noticed this, and made her socialized with the more eligible male. Flame remembered watching from a distances as his Beauty slowly fell in love with another male, or at least it seemed. The stronger, more handsome Triceratops took her as his mate. Flame had left the herd shortly after that, not baring to be around the pair that would be a daily reminder of what could never be his. It was only when he visited the herd that day when so many were killed that he knew she still loved him.

Flame sighed happily, remembering that night. Why had she gotten together with _him_? The brightly scaled threehorn knew _he_ had his eyes on another female who came from another herd from the lower ground, in the meadows. Flame had to admit, she was almost as beautiful as his Beauty. The one who took his love could never keep his emotions at bay when he saw the meadow-born female. Always crashing into trees and stuttering like a hatchling caught doing something they should not have. But then, she left, another male at her side. The more eligible threehorn was sadden by the thought of losing the meadow-born female and turned his sights toward an available female in his own herd, Flame's Beauty. Her family had been delighted at the announcement of their mating. Flame, on the other paw, was distraught. He left the herd at a tender age, just having entered adulthood.

"Why do females always look for the best coloration and displays?" Hyacinth asked with a soft sigh. "The best looking don't always have the best personality."

Flame chuckled at the Apatosaurus's words. "Of course a longneck would say that."

"What does that mean?"

"You longnecks preformed mating dances, am I correct?"

Hyacinth blinked at his words. "I'm not sure... I wasn't raised by other longnecks." She glanced to Sorrel, who was still seated next to the brightly orange scaled male. "I've never seen a courtship or been courted."

"Right," Flame muttered. "We frillheads fight for mates. Normally, the fights are to show off one's skills. I know many of the females in my herd that paired off with the best fighters. For most, it is just a competition and the female is the prize. For others, it is just to show off their skills." Flame chuckled. "There was this one time were I witness a pair of females fighting for a male."

"Yeah! Spiketails are similar," Orchid spoke up. "Males flash their plates and flush them with blood to look more intimidated before they fight. If they do fight, it's scary. They slam their bodies together and roar and use their spiked tails and they get hurt really bad and it's just really scary." The female shuddered.

"You know," Sorrel said, standing up from her spot next to Flame. "I think there has been enough story telling for tonight. How about we get some shut eye?" The blonde haired woman stooped down to pick up the mauve feathered Oviraptor before she sleepily stumbled over to Hyacinth. Setting Digger down, she snuggled up against the Apatosaurus's neck. "Good night."

"Good night," the gray longneck replied.

With that, the members of the small herd drifted off into sleep as night overcame them. Their dreams were filled with many different visions. From lost lovers, to what waited them in the Great Valley.


	4. Chapter Four: The Great Divide

Chapter Four: The Great Divide

"How exactly do we get to the Great Valley?" Digger asked, balanced on one of Flame's fearsome brow horns.

The bright-scaled male did not respond, too immersed in his breakfast. He groggily chewed on the waxy, thick-leaved shrub, dark brown eyes hooded with sleep. The annoying little Oviraptor had woken him from his slumber only minutes ago. She had ruined a lovely dream about His Beauty. He and the brown-eyed female were laying side-by-side in their homeland's meadow, nuzzling each other under the glowing sun. She was just about to speak to him when Digger had prodded him in his sensitive belly with her hard beak.

Flame lazily turned to the other females as he chewed. He could not believe even the spiketail was up this early. Were they not supposed to be heavy sleepers who slept late into the day? But here the purple-scaled female was, prancing around the longneck and chatting up a storm with the thinskin.

He turned back to his plant, gazing at the sun, which hung just over the horizon. How could _all_ of them be up this early? It seemed that they were already done feeding and ready to go. Were they really up at the break of dawn? Just thinking of waking that early made him want to fall asleep again.

"Did you hear me, threehorn?" the mauve Oviraptor snapped as she thrusted her black feathered head downward, green eyes glaring into his dark brown ones. "How do we get to the Great Valley? You said you knew the exact way. What is it?"

"Demanding little feathered crestbeak," Flame grumbled under his breath, leaves sticking out from the side of his beaked snout. "Look. I just woke up. Give me some time, little girl."

"Oh, I'll give you some time," Digger snarled, fanning out her violet tail feathers in irritation. "I'll peck your eyes out if you don't tell me." She glared down at the lazy Triceratops, seemingly not bothered by her threat. Flapping her feathered forearms in annoyance, she hopped off the Triceratops's brow horn. "Or maybe I should try something else."

Digger fluffed out her mauve feathers and fanned out the longer violet feathers lining her forearms and tail tip. She flapped her forearms once more, fluffing out her feathers as much as she could. Satisfied with the state of her feathers, Digger pressed her arms against her sides. She waved her head back and forth, hissing at Flame as she flaunted her cracked, cobalt crest and teal beak.

"What are you doing, crestbeak?" Flame asked, rising a forepaw in defense at the tiny Oviraptor.

The little female gave a loud hiss in response, a crackled of white electricity dancing across her crest and beak. It died down for a moment as she glowered at Flame. "You're going to tell me now or I will electrocute you."

"Like you could hurt me, little girl," Flame mumbled, turning back to his bush.

Digger narrowed her green eyes at the orange-scaled male. She hissed at him again, her mauve down fluffing out at the static jumping across her feathers. She appeared over twice as big as normal. The white electricity was visible once more on her body, this time jumping and arcing between her mauve and violet feathers. As a large arc jumped from her teal beak, she charged forward with a loud squawk. She flapped her forearms once more as she lunged forward, snapping her beak at Flame's ankle.

"Ow!" the Triceratops shouted, pulling his right foreleg away from Digger.

The tiny Oviraptor had not touched him. No, the pain was caused by the large voltage of electricity she had built up within her body. It had arced from her beak and cobalt crest to his ankle. A blistering, inflamed burn was visible where the arc had entered him. Blood slowly oozed from the charred scales and skin.

Flame placed his foreleg back on the ground, grimacing at the hot burning pain coursing through it. He turned to Digger, whom had retreated a few paces away from him. "Why you little…" he snarled, ready to crush her into the dirt.

Digger hissed at him before scuttling off to Hyacinth for protection. She eyed the orange Triceratops from behind the longnecks thick leg. He had not moved from his spot, his steely glare still trained on her. A moment of staring passed before he turned away, brushing past the shrub he had been feeding on; appetite lost. The hot, searing pain in his ankle was the only thing he could think of now. He would not limp in front of the bothersome omnivore. He would not give her the pleasure of knowing that she had hurt him.

As he stared up at the rising sun, Flame glanced back at Digger from the corner of his eye. He had heard of dinosaurs with magical abilities. When he was still with his herd, he never believed it. No one in the herd did. It was a ridiculous concept. Dinosaurs with supernatural powers, bah. That was what he thought until he saw a longneck child ignite himself on fire yet was unharmed as he pranced around his mother, laughing with glee. Flame had learned that those with supernatural abilities were known as Mythcarriers.

Digger was a powerful one at that. With her electricity on their side, they would be able to scare off most of the smaller carnivores on the journey, maybe even a few of the larger ones. Flame turned back to the four females, scrutinizing them for a long moment. He heard that some Mythcarriers where born with their supernatural ability while others received them by a strange scar carved by one who could manipulate magic and runes. He could see no scars, other than Orchid's missing plate and the ugly bite wounds on Hyacinth's backside. That still did not mean Digger did not have a scar. It could be hidden under her feathers. Oh, what did it matter if she was one born with an ability?

Flame shook his head, dismissing his thoughts. Still, they lingered. There were rumors about Mythborns…but he had never believed them anyway, so why did it matter. The orange Triceratops cleared his throat, turning back to the females. "Since you girls are done eating, we can start our journey." He turned back to the sun, eyeing a small herd of hadrosaurs far off in the distances. "Our first stop is the Great Divide, where the earth split during the Great Earthshake. It's almost two longnecks wide and stretches as far as the eye can see. We'll walk along it until we find a way across, whether a stone pillar used by other dinosaurs that made the travel before us, or a nearby tree we can push over."

"The Great Earthshake!" Orchid shouted. "I've heard of that from my spiketail friends that I visit when my herd migrates from our cold winter home to a much nicer meadow where my mother was hatched. They said it was awful. The sky turned red and so many dinosaurs died. They lost over half their herd from it. Well, not just from the earthshake. A lot of them were injured and died from infection, while many of the others that died just could not find enough food. Wait! Are we going through the Dying Lands?" Orchid shuddered, her nonstop blabber halted for a moment at the thought of the horrid lands that took many dinosaurs lives during the years.

"We are," Flame answered and began to walk towards the hellish desert landscape that awaited them.

"What is after the Great Divide?" Digger asked, now preached atop Sorrel's shoulders, forepaws placed on the young woman's head. The thinskin was sitting at the base of Hyacinth's neck, legs hanging out on either side of the Apatosaurus and fair, slender hands pressed against the warm, darker gray scales that painted the back of Hyacinth's neck, back, and top of her tail.

"Why are you so determined to learn the way to the Great Valley? I know it, don't worry about it," Flame replied, not looking up at the mauve Oviraptor as he spoke. His dark brown eyes searched the horizon for looming predators. He knew sickleclaws were prominent in the desert.

"What if we get separated?" Digger asked as she leaned forward on Sorrel's head, burying her forepaws in the young woman's short blonde hair.

"We won't."

"How do you know, stubborn hornface?"

Sorrel winced as Digger said this, the little Oviraptor's claws digging into her scalp. "Digger," she whispered, reaching up to pull the mauve feathered dinosaur off her head. "You're hurting me." The young woman held Digger in her arms, letting the Oviraptor cling to her shoulder as she watched Flame with accusing green eyes.

"Fine, I'll tell you," Flame grumbled, stride slowing to walk beside Hyacinth as he looked up at Digger. "There's not much too it. We will keep traveling west after we cross the Great Divide. We must then find a rock that looks like a longneck. Afterwards, we will come across a range of smoking mountains that we must pass. Once out of that danger, we will find a river that flows into the Great Valley. We'll follow it into a cave surrounded by flowers that ward off predators. After that, we'll be in the Great Valley."

"Woah! Smoking mountains!" Orchid commented. "And most of the journey is through the Dying Lands…" she shuddered once more. "But I have to look on the bright side! Each step brings me closer to Oak! Soon, Hyacinth and I will have children and they will live in the wonderful Great Valley. A paradise where no sharpteeth can disturb us and all the food and water we would want!"

"When did I say I wanted hatchlings?" Hyacinth asked. "You don't even know if any of them are males. I may not even get along with the longneck. I'm sure they are full of the glory they always get for their act in defeating Shaprtooth."

"Hey, in my dreams you get with Cirrus the flathead longneck and I get Oak, the plateback spiketail. My dreams never lie."

Flame rolled his eyes at the adolescent's banter as he sped up his stride. He may as well stay in front of the group and keep watch for any predators. The Dying Lands always seemed full of them. Besides, he did not want to listen to their childish, girly conversation all day.

"Here we are, the Great Divide," Flame announced, stopping a few feet away from a colossal crack in the earth.

The five travelers had been walking for two days before they finally reached their first landmark of the journey. Like most of the travel before meeting Flame, it had been uneventful. With three large herbivores traveling together, along with a thinskin whom were known for their intelligence, use of deadly weapons and poison, almost all of the carnivores avoided them. The food had become more scare, but it had yet to bother the travelers. They always managed to find something to nibble on along the way. Water was more of a worry, but they hoped to find some soon.

Flame had not been exaggerating when he said the Great Divide was two longnecks wide. The crevice was around three-hundred feet wide. There was no end in sight, lengthwise. Only a pterosaur or other flying creature could cross the fissure.

"What longneck were you measuring with?" Digger asked. "Definitely not a flathead."

"Does it matter?"

Digger huffed at Flame's words, scrambling up Sorrel's back and placing her front paws on the young woman's head. The Oviraptor sneered down at the Triceratops, as the human was still seated on Hyacinth. Sorrel just laugh at the pair, a gleeful smile playing on her lips. Throughout the short journey with Flame, Digger found a need to argue with the Triceratops. Whether it be how he said something or the accuracy of his stories, she could not go one moment without making a snarky comment to the Triceratops.

"We should keep moving," Hyacinth spoke up, eyeing the endless fissure. "I would like to get across this as soon as possible."

Flame nodded at her words. "The longneck's right. Come on." He continued forward, dark gaze sweeping over the crack in the earth, searching for any bridge that may have already been knocked down by another traveling heard, or at least a large study tree that would make a good one.

Sorrel surveyed the endless abyss as they traveled along the rift. The young woman unclipped her hiking backpack from around her waist before slipping it off her shoulder and into her lap. Digger had scuttled away from her and was now balanced on Hyacinth's head, large green eyes scouting the horizon. Sorrel observed a herd of hadrosaurs on the same side of the rift that they walked on. The medium sized herd had caught up with them, but still kept their distance. More than likely, they were traveling to the Great Valley too.

The young woman narrowed her eyes at them as she groped around her bag for her binoculars. She knew that they were hadrosaurs but could not tell the exact species. She pulled out what she thought was her binoculars only to hold up the rune engraved rock to her face. Jerking back in surprise, she stared at the dark gray stone in her hand. Why had she brought that out? It felt nothing like her binoculars.

Turning away from the heard of green hued singers, Sorrel marveled at the stone in her hand. She jiggled it in her hands before looking back to the herd behind them. As she stared at them, she turned to the sky, her brows furrowing. Dark, purple hued clouds were gathering overhead. "Strange," she muttered. "It was sunny out just a minute ago."

"Weather's strange in the Dying Lands," Flame announced from the front of the group. "It can change to something completely different within minutes." The orange Triceratops halted, staring up at the sky, dark brown eyes narrowed at the dark grayish-purple colored clouds. "But that's not what normal rainclouds look like, not even massive thunderheads."

He turned back to the four females. "We need to get somewhere safe before the rain breaks. Looks like it's going to be a bad one." As if on que, rain began to fall from the ever-darkening clouds. The wind soon picked up, ruffling Digger's mauve fathers and Sorrel's short blonde hair.

As Flame lead them away from the Great Divide, he turned back to Hyacinth, peering up at the young woman perched atop her back. He narrowed his eyes once more, inspecting Sorrel. "What is that you have in your hands, thinskin?"

"A stone my grandmother gave me. It has runes carved in it."

"Let me see." The Triceratops strode to Hyacinth's right flank, looking up at Sorrel. The young woman held out the rune covered rock for him to view. Flame raised his head, sniffing the stone. Lighting flashed across the sky just as the male sneezed. He turned to the dark purplish sky, his stomach sinking and heart pounding. He knew this feeling. He had experienced it once before "I don't like the smell of that stone. It doesn't give off good vibes."

"Is it supposed to?" Digger retorted from atop Hyacinth's head.

"It feels evil. Can't you smell it?" Flame muttered.

"Of course, threehorn," Digger rolled her eyes, she too staring up at the dark sky, watching the lightning dance inside the clouds with fascination. She was a Lightning Manipulator after all. She may not be able to control a volt that strong, but she would never be harmed by it.

"Don't be smart with me," Flame snapped. He turned back to the sky, the rainfall increasing, soaking the travelers. Fear was evident in his dark brown eyes. He looked to the Great Divide before turning back to the four females. "We need to go, now!" With those words, the Triceratops pounded away, Hyacinth and Orchid following him in confusion.

Flame remembered the day ten years ago. The worse day of any dinosaur that lived in what was now known as the Dying Lands. There was the earthquake that destroyed the land, then the torrents of rain that followed, drowning the injured and trapped. He remembered the malice the air held that day. The same malice in the air at this very moment. The Dying Lands were dying again.

The male's fears were confirmed when a tremor ripped through the muddy soil, splitting the earth beneath their feet.

"Earthshake!" Orchid cried just as a column of scalding steam shoot through the earth right in front of the stampeding Flame.


	5. Chapter Five: Separated, Again

Chapter Five: Separated, Again

Lightning crackled across the sky, a deafening boom of thunder echoing it. As the fear-inducing bang lingered in the damp air, Flame's previously drowned out roars reached the other travelers' ears. The male had been scalded by the vapor that had spewed out of the crack in the earth. He backed away from the vent, shaking his head, hoping to rid himself of the searing pain. The steam had burned most of his head, evident by his already peeling scales and blisters forming on his face.

Arcs of purple lightning flashed once more, lightning the dark sky. It danced, crossing the vast sky before fading, only for another bolt to replace it. The rain fell harder than ever, the dinosaurs unable to see through the curtains of precipitation. Then, another tremor rumbled through the earth beneath their feet. Seconds later, the ground tore open.

Flame stumbled forward, left foot buckling underneath him as the earth split. He watched the earth open up wider by the second, paralyzed by fear. Hyacinth and her riders stood on the other side of the fissure while Orchid stood next to the injured Triceratops. The male felt a small nudge in his hindquarters, bringing him back to reality. Heaving himself to his feet, he looked to the frighten Orchid beside him. He then turned to Hyacinth on the other side of the crack when the earth lurched again.

The Apatosaurus could not stop the forward moment, crashing to her knees at the jerk of the earth. Digger, who was still on her head, began to slip, having lost her grip when Hyacinth fell. Her tiny claws could no longer find hold on Hyacinth's slick head anymore. She kicked out her hind leg for leverage, but it did no good. Her small paws slipped away from Hyacinth's dark gray snout. Her fearful chirrups and trills filled the air as she plummeted towards the dark abyss.

"Digger!" Sorrel shouted, watching the cat-sized, mauve feathered figure falling towards the fresh fissure.

Hyacinth shot forward, teeth clamping down on the little omnivores violet tail feathers. Knowing the earth could shift again any second, she flung Digger across the ominous crack. The Oviraptor pin-wheeled through the air, managing to land between Orchid's dark purple plates. Digger looked up at the pair across the gorge, green eyes wide. She gave them a nod of thanks only for the earth to buckle and shoot upwards, Hyacinth on top of it.

The female longneck's bellows echoed over the thunder of the raging storm. The pillar had taken her over fifteen feet into the air. Sorrel clung to her back, fingers digging into the sauropod's gray scaly hide. She no longer possessed the rune engraved stone, having lost her grip on it when they had violently lurched forward. She was still in possession of her backpack, however, and managed to sling it on her back so that her hands were now free.

The earth shifted again, the pillar that Hyacinth stood on, crumbling beneath her feet. Rearing up on her hind feet in surprise, she gave another bellow, stumbling backwards. The earth gave out under her feet as she crashed back to the ground, unable to hold her weight on her hind legs for long. The ground trembled again, and the Apatosaurus slid backwards off the crumbling structure. She slid back, front feet lifting off the ground again. Her body twisted as she fell, her fearful bellow filling the air again.

Her nineteen-ton body crashed to the ground, shaking the earth almost as much as the earthquake. She lay on her side, stunned as she gasped for air. Pain racked her entire body, rocks digging into her flank and the pounding rain rolling off her smooth gray scales. Another tremor ripped through the sodden earth, spilling open just behind her small head.

"Hyacinth!" Sorrel shouted, standing by the Apatosaurus's neck, havening fallen off when the longneck had crashed to the ground. "Get up! The earth's opening up right beside you! Get up!"

Hyacinth pushed with all her might, on the side she had fallen on. Grunting in pain with the effort, she managed to roll onto her stomach. Panting, she glanced to Sorrel, who had hopped on her back as she rolled to her belly. The young woman looked as fearful as she was, dark brown eyes wide as rainwater rolled down her fair skin. Before Hyacinth could ask if she was okay, the earth lurched once more, the crack next to her head caving in.

Feeling the earth crumbling near her back, Hyacinth heaved herself to her feet. The longneck's left leg almost gave out as the earth beneath it gave way. She stepped to the side, watching as another fissure opened and pillars of rock shot around her. She glanced to the two narrower fissures around her and the pillars that continued to grow out of the ground. How was she going to get out of this?

"Run, Hyacinth!" Sorrel shouted over the wind. "Jump over the crack. You'll make it, I promise."

Gritting her teeth, Hyacinth nodded at her rider's words. Steeling herself for the leap, she took in deep calming breaths as the earth continued to shift around her. Narrowing her teal eyes at her target, a space between two pillars in front of one of the fissures, she charged forward.

Easily enough, she cleared the crevice with her long strides. She was a large enough dinosaur to clear it easily. She glanced back at the crack as more earth gave in, widening it. She watched as the pillar she had slid off finally crumbed away. If she had been standing there any longer, she and Sorrel would have been crushed. Shuddering at the near-death experience, Hyacinth turned back to the still trembling land.

As she took a step forward, a pillar of steam shot out from the ground. The Apatosaurus gave a bellow of surprise, reeling back in pain as it scorched her neck. She stumbled back, wining in pain at the hot, burning sensation now pulsating on the left side of her neck. Through the torrents of rain, Hyacinth watched as more steam poured out of the newly formed crack. How much longer with this earthquake last?

Hyacinth continued to gawk at the roaring column of steam, its plum evaporating the rainwater around it. Gradually, the roar of the scaling vapor slowed to a soft hiss. The shaking of the muddy earth faded with it. Soon, everything was silent, even the hellish lightning and deafening booms of thunder had stopped. Only the pouring rain occupied the destruction of the earth and the horrified dinosaurs that still held onto life.

As Hyacinth's heart slowed to a relative normal pace, she turned to the young woman on her back. She could tell Sorrel was just as shaken up as she was. The young woman still clung to her neck as if her life depended on it. Her wide, dark brown eyes drifted over the destruction the earthquake had caused. This was the second time in her short stay in this word that she had experienced an earthquake and a devastating one at that.

"Are you okay, Sorrel?" Hyacinth asked, teal eyes filled with worry for her rider.

Sorrel snapped her head towards Hyacinth, eyes still wide with fear. She stared at the longneck for a moment, not possessing what she had said. The meaning of her words came to her. She blinked her eyes and gave her head a small shake, clearing her mind. "Um…ye-yeah. Just…really shaken up. That was worse than the first one I was in." She cleared her throat, running a hand through her soaked, short blonde hair as she looked down at the darker gray scales of Hyacinth's back. Rainwater profusely ran down her face, arms and legs and streamed from her clothes just as heavily. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around herself, and drew her legs up to her chest, eyes drifted to the muddy ground. She knew what had caused the earthquake.

The rune engraved stone she had dropped was the cause of this mass destruction. She remembered the first time she had pulled it out of her pack in this world; it caused a snowstorm to rage on for over a week. Then there was the earthquake in the northern forest. Now, it was this massive earthquake, worse than the first she had encountered. Sorrel let her arms fall away from her shoulders and lay limp in her lap, gazing over the chaos of the land. Why would her great-aunt give her such a dangerous object? Why did she have it in the first place? How could a simple rock with runes carved in it cause so much destruction?

Biting her lip, the blonde haired woman began twisting the golden rune engraved ring on her right, middle finger. It seemed that the stone only caused problems in this world. Why? Why was all this happening?

"Sorrel?" Hyacinth asked, fear lacing her voice.

The young woman looked up from her golden ring, thoughts broken by the Apatosaurus's soft quivering voice. The adolescent did not need to say anymore as Sorrel stared out at the destroyed earth. The land was completely decimated. Pillars of rock loomed in the air that were not there before. Piles of rubble lay around them, some of the unlucky creatures crushed beneath them. Deep fissures scored the earth like claws of a predator.

Remembering the herd of hadrosaurs that had been following them, Sorrel turned to them. She sucked in a sharp breath at the bloody sight. Just across the first crevice that had formed, the herd of singers stood, well, what was left of them. It was clear that several were crushed beneath fallen rubble while others where unlucky enough to only have half of their body caught by the stones. Their howls and trumpets of pain filled the air like a gut wrenching song. Over half of the heard would be dead by the next sunrise.

The relatives of the dead stood upon the rubble, scrapes and cuts lacing their bodies. Their mournful song for the dead filled the damp air as the rain finally began to lessen. They would never be with their loved ones again. With a smaller hard, they would be easier pickings for carnivores. Only a few, if any, would reach the Great Valley.

Sorrel turned away from the scene, the songs of the mourning hadrosaurs forever to be engrained in her memory. As she stared out at the destruction once more, she remembered their other traveling companions. "Orchid! Digger! Flame!" the blonde haired woman shouted.

At Sorrel's words, Hyacinth lumbered in the direction they had last seen their traveling companions. The pair searched the misty air, unable to pick out the massive forms of Flame or Orchid. Both silently hopped that they were not trapped within a newly formed crevice or buried under rumble of a fallen pillar of stone. As each second passed, their fear grew. Illogical thoughts clouded their judgment and the possibility that their friends were alive.

"Orchid! Digger!" Hyacinth shouted, voice cracking with panic. "Where are you?" She raised her head high, hopping to spot Orchid's plates and stout body through the mist that now lingered in the air. Images of her friend's possibly broken and bloodied body passed through her mind. She had to find them. She had to make sure they were okay.

The Apatosaurus was galloping now, panic pumping through her veins. She bellowed their names again, Sorrel's quieter cries echoing hers. "Flame!" the young woman shouted, hands cupped around her mouth. "Flame!"

"Over here," a raspy, gruff voice answered in the distances.

Hyacinth charged forward, her massive body shaking the earth almost as much as the earthquake. Her keen eyes quickly spotted the owner of the voice within a shallow canyon. Flame stared up at her, more of his bright orange scales had peeled away from his face, revealing tender pink skin underneath. White blisters also decorated his head as he squinted up at the pair now looming over them.

"Longneck? Thinskin?" he asked, blinking. "I can't see too well."

"Yeah, it's us," Sorrel answered, leaning over Hyacinth's head to peer down at Orchid. The Stegosaurus was laying on the ground, quivering. She seemed unhurt but terror-filled tears rolled down her scaly cheeks. She was sobbing, horrified by the near death experiences. Not only could she had died, Hyacinth could have too.

Digger also appeared to be unhurt. She was still seated between Orchid's plates, mauve feathers plastered to her tiny, lean body. She stared at Hyacinth and Sorrel, green eyes filled with worry. She glanced at Flame for a brief moment before returning it to the pair above her. She was worried for the wounded Triceratops.

"Head to the Great Valley by yourselves," Flame announced. "We'll find a way out of this canyon. It's too steep to climb, but I'm sure we can find another way out. I don't want to delay you two from the journey any longer than we have to. It was your caretaker that wanted you to go to the Great Valley. We'll meet you there, I promise."

"We're not leaving you!" Hyacinth shouted, stepping forward only for the rock to crack and crumble beneath her foot. She stepped back in fear and lowered her long neck into the shallow canyon. "I can't!"

"Sorry, longneck." Flame shook his head only to wince at the movement. Tears welled up in his burned eyes. He resorted to closing them to lessen the pain he was suffering from. "It'll be the best if you keep going. Sharpteeth will be out soon with all the fresh meat that I'm sure is laying around. I promise you, we will see you again in the Great Valley. Do you remember the way?"

"Keep traveling west where we will find a rock that looks like a sauropod. Then we need to past the volcanoes. We will then find a river that flows out of a cave surrounded by flowers." Sorrel answered.

Flame nodded at her words before turning to the still sobbing Orchid. He nudged her with his beaked snout before glancing over his shoulder at the pair, eyes still closed. "Get going!"

Sorrel leaned against Hyacinth's neck, patting the adolescent. "Come on, let's get going. Flame will keep Orchid and Digger safe, and with two large herbivores, just like you, carnivores wouldn't dare attack them. They even have Digger on their side. She can electrify anything dangerous. They'll be fine. We'll see them soon, okay, Hyacinth?"

The Apatosaurus glumly nodded. She slowly turned away from her trapped companions, teal eyes trained on them. Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned away. "See you soon."


	6. Chapter Six: Predators and Longnecks

Chapter Six: Predators and Longnecks

Hyacinth lumbered onwards, leaving the rest of her tiny herd behind in the shallow canyon. Her heart broke with each step. She had to tear her watery gaze away from them, unable to see them through the mist that still hung in the air. What if something horrible happened to them in the canyon? Would she really see them again? What about the carnivores? They would be immerging from the mists soon once they realized that the earthquake had stopped. How would Flame and Orchid fend them off? Would they be able to in such a small space? How would _she_ fend them off?

The Apatosaurus sniffed, the tears falling from her eyes. She could not stop her mind from whirling with the awful thoughts. She was terrified for not only her friends' lives, but also her own. On her adventures with Angela, she rarely encountered large predators. Most stayed away from her as she was either too small for a satisfying meal or the human riding with her made them cautious. As she grew larger, the carnivores still did not attack her, Angela like a guardian angel to her. Now, she had a new thinskin companion, one barely known by the carnivores. Some may still stay away but Hyacinth knew that many have grown to not fear thinskins anymore. They knew that they were easy to kill, especially a simple one with no weapons or strange supernatural abilities. One just like Sorrel.

Hyacinth was torn from her thoughts when she felt Sorrel place a hand on her neck. She shakily turned to the young woman, tears still rolling down her scaly cheeks. She could not protect Sorrel like she would want. She had no experience fighting. The first time she cracked her tail was during the fight with Coldbreath. That was nothing, as she knew, deep down, he was just toying with her and Orchid.

"Come on, Hyacinth. It's going to be okay." Sorrel cooed, leaning over the sauropod's back to message her tense neck. "I know you didn't want to leave them, but we had o choice. We would have attracted predators to them if we lingered too long. We need to find our own safe place too. The predators will be out once they figure out the earthquake has ended." The young woman peered over her shoulder, searching the heavy, mist-laden air for glowing, yellow-green eyes of stalking hunters. Spotting none, she turned back to her friend, rubbing Hyacinth's neck once more. "Just keep moving, Hyacinth."

Hyacinth sniffed once more before nodding numbly. She turned to stare straight forward, letting Sorrel be the outlook. Even with her rider's words, her mind drifted back to the grim thoughts crowding her mind moments ago. Every small noise, from the click of falling pebbles or moans of the dying, caused her to flinch, her mind churning another idea, worse than the last. Even the flash of lightning far off the rolling sand dunes miles away brought on the thought of floods and her friends' drowning in the canyon they left them in.

A whimper escaped Hyacinth, more tears flowing from her eyes. "Sorrel…I'm scared."

The young woman only hushed the longneck, rubbing her neck once more. She could feel Hyacinth's racing pulse and hear the panic in her voice. She knew the adolescent was becoming worked up over the horrible thoughts racing through her mind. "I know, Hyacinth. I know. You just got to keep going. As soon as we find a safe place to rest, we will stop for the night, okay. We just need to find somewhere away from the predators. Just don't think about it too much."

"Okay…" Hyacinth sniffed. She sped up her strides, now searching the mists with her rider. She hoped not to spot any hungry eyes as she kept a look out for any carnivores. It kept her mind off worse thoughts. Unfortunately, it would not be for long.

In the mist glinted a pair of yellow-green eyes. The owner stood only feet away from the longneck, silhouette barely visible through the opaque fog. The beast stared, unblinking, at the Apatosaurus, whom stood, muscles ridged with fear. The predator sniffed the air once before giving a hoarse, cough-like caw. It was calling for its packmates.

"Hyacinth!" Sorrel shouted. "Move!" She watched in horror as several more pairs of glowing yellow-green eyes appeared from the misty fog. Their hungry growls penetrated the thick air, their salvia slick fangs visible. The first of the large carnivores stepped forward. She stood only a foot from Hyacinth's right foreleg, staring up at the human.

"Hyacinth!" Sorrel shouted again, unnerved at the seventeen-foot long, featherless Achillobator staring up at her. The predator hissed, flaunting her three clawed paws up at the human. She was ready to jump onto the longneck to reach the human. Her pack responded with hisses of their own, gathering closer to Hyacinth, jaws parted menacingly.

Seeing as Hyacinth was still scared stiff and would not be moving soon, Sorrel, standing on the Apatosaurus' back, waved her arms at the gathering dromaeosaur. **"There is enough fresh meat. Why kill us?"**

 **"For the thrill of the hunt, of course,"** the female Achillobator growled, her yellow eyes glinting with hunger. **"There may be enough food, but what is the point of eating it when you did not work for it. My pack not only values fresh meat, but our ability to take down any plant-eater."** She hissed, flashing her clawed paws once more.

Unlike the other dromaeosaurs that Sorrel had encountered, this one and her pack possessed no feathers. Their bodies were sleek yet powerful, covered in gray scales. Horizontal stripes of darker gray started at their heads and ran along their backs, to the end of their tails. Their undersides were a paler shade of gray and all of them possessed yellow eyes.

Hyacinth still did not move, even when the alpha female hissed at her again, threating to jump onto her back and take Sorrel. The Apatosaurus was frozen to the ground, teal eyes wide as more tears poured down her cheeks. Too much had happened today. She could not handle it anymore. She had enough of predators, destruction, pain, blood, and death. All she wanted to do was go back to her life with Angela when all they did was travel around and avoid predators. She did not like the sound of Sorrel speaking to the dromaeosaur. She never liked it when Angela did the same. Hyacinth only understood bits and pieces from Sorrel and the Achillobator at her feet. The hisses and growls coming from her rider just made her sick to her stomach. She had enough with this terror.

"Hyacinth!" Sorrel screamed, smacking the Apatosaurus with her first. "Move! They're going to kill us! Remember, we promised to meet the others in the Great Valley. Don't be the one to break the promise. And remember Angela wanted you to go to the Great Valley. Don't upset her too."

At her rider's words, Hyacinth broke from her trance. The chase was on. The gray Achillobators snapped at the adolescent sauropod's heels, their serrated teeth grazing her own gray scales. The carnivore's hungry growls and hisses filled the air, drawing the attention of more dinosaurs, carnivores and herbivores alike. Some of the pack members snapped at one another, wanting to be the first to take a bite out of the longneck. A fight broke out between several of the overly aggressive males, slowing down the pack. The alpha hissed at them before continuing her run, leaving the tussling males behind, the rest of the pack followed her.

A sudden bellow filled the air, causing the rest of the featherless dromaeosaurs to scatter. They gradually regrouped, hissing in irritation and yellow eyes focused on the beast hidden in the fog. The pack could tell it was an herbivore by the sound alone, and that it was mad. The alpha cawed to her pack before sniffing the air. As her pack gathered behind her, another thunderous bellow echoed over the flooded land. The Achillobators almost scattered again.

 **"More carnivores,"** the alpha hissed, yellow eyes watching the larger figures within the mist. **"Sisters. Stuntedarms."** She sniffed the air again. **"Adult male flathead longneck."**

Her pack shifted uneasily behind her. They could probably take down the longneck and the stuntedarms, or at least chase them off, but it was too risky. What was the point of hunting if it risked their lives when there was fresh meat laying around? For all they knew, the adolescent female they were chasing was related to the male. The alpha knew all too well how protective a herdmate could be to the younglings of the herd.

Letting out another annoyed hiss, the alpha turned away from Hyacinth, her pack following her. They would need to pick up the tussling males before searching for a meal among the carnage of the earthquake. She and her pack may love to hunt, but the thinskin had been right, why waste fresh meat when you were hungry.

Hyacinth watched the pack slip away into the mist. Knowing she would be safe for a few moments, she turned to Sorrel. The young woman looked just as surprised, still watching where the pack and disappeared. She opened her mouth to question their motives to Hyacinth when another angry bellow resounded through the moist air. The Apatosaurus turned to the noise, then glanced back at Sorrel before walking towards the owner of the bellows.

Only a few yards through the mist brought a strange sight to the two females. A flathead longneck lay under a pile of rubber, only his powerful neck and tail free of the stones. His slate colored scales were slick with the blood that oozed from cuts and nicks that decorated his body. His russet eyes burned with hate as he let out another thunderous bellow. The two sister Skorpiovenators stepped away from him. They turned to one another, grunting and growling a conversation too quiet for Sorrel to understand.

"Why don't you just leave me alone, huh?" the trapped male growled. He shifted under the pile of rubble, trying for the umpteenth time to stand up and push the stones from his body. He failed once more, collapsing to the ground again. "Just move on. More than enough meat to go around for ya ugly things. Or are you just too stupid to know that, huh?"

The sisters exchanged several more grunts, amber and golden eyes darting to the trapped Apatosaurus. They seemed not to have noticed Hyacinth and Sorrel or did not care about them. The larger of the two stepped closer to the male. She lowered her body closer to the ground, prowling forward.

Both Skorpiovenators were dark brown in color. The back of their necks, backs, and top of their tails were dappled a golden color. Their undersides were a paler shade of brown than the rest of their bodies. The only noticeable differences in the sisters where their sizes and that the larger of the two possessed amber colored eyes while the smaller had gold.

"Get away, ya stupid beast." The male then gave another bellow.

The stalking Skorpiovenator flinched at the loud noise the herbivore emitted. She prowled around him, now standing on his left side. She growled, eyeing the massive herbivore before lunging forward, deadly jaws parted. The male swung his head away from her but her sharp teeth still inflicted damage. She had managed to rip away a thin strip of flesh, her bloody prize hanging from her jaws. Blood flowed from the fresh wound, the Apatosaurus's face twisted with pain. He was starting to feel lightheaded from all the blood he lost.

"We have to help him…" Hyacinth muttered, teal eyes wide, tears having stopped when she became enticed by the battle. She stepped forward, courage building up within her as the smaller stuntedarmed sharptooth approached the imprisoned longneck from his right side. Hyacinth took another step then another until she was galloping as fast as her nineteen-ton body could be carried. Gritting her teeth, she braced herself for impact as she slammed into the smaller Skorpiovenator.

The golden eyed female crashed to the ground, not expecting the terrified adolescent to charge her. She lay on the ground, stunned. Her toothy jaws opened and shut for a moment as she gasped for air, unable to breathe for an excruciating long moment. Once she finally took in a lungful of air, she glared at Hyacinth. **"Stupid longneck!"** she roared, kicking out her feet. When that did nothing, she wiggled on the muddy ground, vestigial forearms useless in her situation. Her grunts and roars of frustration where almost comical as she twisted and squirmed on the ground, dirty her dark hide.

" **Sister!"** the grounded Skorpiovenator shouted. **"Help me up!"**

The amber eyed female stepped away from the adult longneck, turning to her nestmate. She could not help but snicker at the situation as she approached her sister. When she was only feet from her sister, she finally noticed Hyacinth. Her amber eyes grew wide at the sight of the adolescent Apatosaurus. She took a fearful step back. **"Golden Gaze,"** she spoke, voice quacking with fear. **"It's a longneck with a thinskin riding it. Are they the ones from the legends that Father tells us?"**

" **No, Dark Talon,"** the smaller female grunted, still wiggling. She had successfully rolled herself to her stomach and was now trying to get a foothold of the ground. **"The longneck in Father's stories is a male. That one is female, idiot. She's the wrong color anyway. Remember how Father always describes him, dull brown with russet eyes. Do you ever listen?"** Golden Gaze paused in her struggles, sniffing the air. **"They should be around the same age, though. Maybe she knows the one under the rocks. Oh, forget about it. Help me up already, Dark Talon."**

" **Right…"** The larger female glanced to the trapped longneck. He just glared back at her, sides heaving with pain and exhaustion. He would not be moving anytime soon. Dark Talon leaned down to her sister, shoving her snout under Golden Gaze's. She lifted her sister up just enough for her to find her footing. Once stable on her feet, Dark Talon drew away.

Golden Gaze shook the mud clinging to her scales before turning to Hyacinth. **"I'll take the adolescent. You finish off the male. Just bite him in the throat already. I'm getting kind of hungry."**

"No!" Hyacinth bellowed. She had understood bits and pieces of the females' conversation moments ago, but the combination of 'bite', 'him', and 'throat' told her that they were going to kill the male. She rose to her hind feet, Sorrel instantly wrapping her arms around the base of her neck as best as she could. The adolescent cashed down to the ground, shaking the earth in a threating display. "Stay away from him!" Her tail lashed back and forth, wind whistling with each angry stroke.

" **What is he to you, longneck?"** Golden Gaze asked, stalking forward. **"A father? Uncle? Cousin? Grandfather even?"** She could smell the waves of fear that wafted from Hyacinth. Her fear-scent over powered the anger. The abelisauridae watched her legs quiver with fear even though her tail lashed with anger. Such easy prey.

"I- I don't know," Hyacinth stuttered, stepping back, instantly facing her flank to the Skorpiovenator. She then shook her head, answering Golden Gaze again. **"A friend,"** she then answered in carnivore tongue. She turned her backside to the now surprised carnivore, cracking her tail. She had only preformed this move a few times in her life but it worked just the same.

Golden Gaze's pain filled howl filled the air as she stumbled back, blood gushing from the fresh wound. The right side of her head was now marred with a large gash, just behind her eye. **"You mentally deficient longneck!"** She roared in fury. **"How dare a sap sucking, leaf brain like you, wound me!"** Golden Gaze charged forward, jaws agape.

Hyacinth stumbled back at the roar, almost falling to her side. Sorrel quickly unsheathed her rune engraved blade strapped to her hip. Biting her lip, she tossed the blade into the air with a flick of her wrist. With such a large target close range, she hoped it would strike the Skorpiovenator. She and Hyacinth watched the blade twirl in the air, flipping hilt over blade until it lodged itself into Golden Gaze's shoulder.

The dark brown scaled Skorpiovenator shrieked in pain, hot blood gushing from her wound as she turned away from Hyacinth. The Apatosaurus stared in awe as Golden Gaze stumbled away, howls ringing through the damp air. "What did you do, Sorrel?"

"No-nothing," the young woman stuttered. "I just threw my…" she trailed off, watching as the golden eyed Skorpiovenator stumbled to her sister. She howled for her to pull the blade out. Dark Talon grumbled but began to work at the knife.

"A rune," Sorrel breathed. One of the runes on the blade. It must cause pain."

"Really? You humans have a lot of powerful stuff."

"Hey," the trapped Apatosaurus grunted. "Could you get some of these rocks of me, huh?"

Hyacinth quickly approached the male. As she struggled to push away the larger of the rocks that covered his massive body, she eyed the sisters. Dark Talon was trying to pull the blade from her sister's shoulder but was having some troubles. Golden Gaze would not stay still long enough. Even if she did, the larger of the sisters could barely grip the small weapon with her large jaws.

After a few long moments, both longneck and stuntedarm were free of their pain. Dark Talon had finally managed to get a hold of the blade and tugged it out of her sister's shoulder. As she tossed the bloodied blade to the muddy ground, the male Apatosaurus escaped his stony prison. She growled at the sight of him, cowering back. She did not realize how large and menacing he would be standing up.

The male was larger than most adult Apatosaurus. His slate colored scales only accentuated the muscles that rippled with each movement. Like Hyacinth, the top of his head, back of his neck, back, and top of tail were a darker shade of blue-gray. His underside, however, was lavender and his eyes were russet.

"Run off, beasts," he snarled, approaching the pair of sister. The blood that oozed from the wounds they had inflicted only made him fiercer. He cracked his tail in the air before raising to his hind legs like Hyacinth had done. He stood, swearing for a moment before crashing to the ground, shaking the earth as he gave a mighty bellow.

Dark Talon glowered at the male but turned away from him, nonetheless. Golden Gaze quietly followed, blood pouring from her right shoulder and side of her head. Once the dark brown scaled females disappeared into the mist the male Apatosaurus turned to the girls. "So what are you two doing out here in the Dying Lands, huh?"


	7. Chapter Seven: Out

Chapter Seven: Out

"Come on," Flame grunted, stopping under a small rock shelf. He glanced back at Orchid, Digger lazily lounging between the Stegosaurus's dark violet plates. He huffed in annoyance as Orchid picked her way through pieces of rubble, daintily avoiding the shards of broken rock.

"Hurry up, spiketail," the orange Triceratops growled. "We need to keep moving. Those sickleclaws are hungry. They'll be down here any minute if we keep lolly-gagging." He drew his dark gaze away from the two females, squinting up into the misty sky, watching for any looming carnivores. He grunted, seeing nothing. Turning back to the narrow passageway he and Orchid were traveling down, he continued walking; not waiting for the purple-scaled female as she carefully stepped over the last pieces of broken shards.

"Isn't there enough food laying around?" Digger asked, sitting up. "Why hunt something that's alive when you have all that food? They would just be risking wasting energy, injuring themselves, and possibly losing their life. What's the point? Are carnivores really that stupid?" She perched on Orchid's broken plate, preening the long violet feathers lining her right forearm.

"No, they are not." Flame growled. "Predators are nowhere near stupid. They are stubborn and some love to have the freshest of kills. They will hunt for the hell of it, even now, with all the dead." Flame looked back up to the ledge, searching for any stalking forms. A distant, hoarse caw echoed over the damp land, signaling they had found a living, fighting leaf-eater for the pack's taking. It sounded again, more following it. "See," he muttered, wincing at the dying cry of a hadrosaur. "The well fed will hunt the living. But, I have seen merciful ones also."

"A merciful sharptooth?" Digger snorted. "Like, compassionate, kindhearted, _sympathetic_?" She gave a sharp laugh, almost falling over from her perch on Orchid's plate. "Are you pulling my tail? No sharptooth can have feelings. Look at what they are doing now. Hunting the living when there is enough dead to feed on. I understand that they have to kill to survive, but this." The mauve feathered female laughed again, full of bitterness. "I've had too many experiences with sharpteeth to believe that good ones are out there."

Flame turned his dark brown gaze to the ground. "Those ones that just killed the singer. Did they kill it for the thrill of the hunt? Or was it to put it out of its misery?"

Digger narrowed her green eyes at the Triceratops. "So how do you propose we'll get out of this mess?" She raised a finely black feathered eye ridge, ignoring Flame's question. "I don't think there's going to be an opening. The walls all look like they're too step for you two to climb."

"I'll find a way," Flame muttered, ignoring the mauve Oviraptor's remarks. "I'm sure we can find a way out of this canyon somehow."

"Okay," Digger rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, hornface." She fell silent, now watching the earthy walls that surrounded the three travelers. Her green orbs trailed up the dark earthy walls, automatically searching for the stalking forms of carnivores near the steep edge. She knew that Flame had lost part of his vision during the scalding spray of steam and he could not see well anymore. It had become obvious when he continued to scrape his brow horns against the narrow rocky walls of the canyon. She knew Ceratopsians were prideful of their horns and frills. It was a make-it-or-break-it trait when courting mates. If one's strength was not up to par, or they were lacking in confidence, their beautiful horns and frill could earn them a mate. Because of this, most made sure to keep their horns clear of stony walls and ground, in fear of damaging them. No Ceratopsian wanted to tell a possible mate that their broken horn was because they walked into a rock wall.

A grunt came from Flame, drawing Digger out of her thoughts. The Oviraptor turned to the bright orange-scaled Triceratops, sighing to see that he had yet again, bumped into a stone, which jutted out from the rock wall to his right side. He grumbled to himself, swinging his head away from the wall, brow horns almost grazing Orchid's cheek.

"Hey!" the purple Stegosaurs shouted. "Watch it! I like my face how it is. I don't need any more scars on my body. Oak might not like females with blemishes on their scales. I already have a broken plate from stupid Coldbreath. Oak might not take me as his mate because of my missing plate. I don't need another scar from him to judge me by. I already have a few on my feet and legs when I was a kid. Sometimes I wish I knew better when I was younger. I know Mom always told me that I would hurt myself running down hills with lose rocks but…"

"Why don't you just shut up already," Flame growled, staring down the narrow, rocky passageway once more. "Just keep back. Don't walk so close to me when you know I'm having problems seeing and have long horns on my head."

"Guys, please," Digger rolled her eyes again. "Will you stop? You're both annoying, but I don't want you killing each other. Let's just find a way out of here. I don't want to die here with you two sassy idiots."

"I thought you didn't think there was a way out, crestbeak," Flame snapped.

"I don't, but I don't need you two fighting over something so stupid. You guys are so trivial. You with your high and mighty personality and Orchid with her insane obsession with the imaginary spiketail."

"He's not imaginary!" Orchid shouted back, spiked tail swing back and forth with aggravation as she glared up at the Oviraptor on her back.

"Probably is. I'll bet you three of those juicy, red fleshed melons that this so called 'legendary spiketail' will be a female. I get two if it's a male but you can't stand him. Flame can be the judge if you two are getting along. Deal?"

"I didn't want to be dragged into this mess," the orange Triceratops muttered, interrupting Orchid's reply. "Get the longneck into this stupid girly stuff. I want nothing of it." He snorted, stepping over a large fallen rock before looking up at the ledge. He narrowed his eyes when he caught sight of a blurry shape. "Hey, crestbeak. Look at the ledge over there."

Digger obliged, turning to where Flame was staring. There was another flash of movement. A large brown sail decorated with at least one large eyespot. "It's a sailed-groundscraper." The Oviraptor responded, green eyes still locked on the cliff edge.

"A what," Orchid hissed.

"Haven't you seen those strange beasts that waddle on four legs? They have frightening jaws, deadly teeth, large claws, and massive sails on their back," Digger raising her forearms in emphasis and fluffing out her feathers. "I've seen a few where I come from. They are nasty beasts. Just like any sharptooth, really. They just look a lot different, but they still eat meat like them."

An expression of disbelief had washed over Flame's face as he tried to catch another glimpse of the Dimetrodon. "I've also seen a lot of sailed-groundscrapers in my life. The Dying Lands are full of them. My grandmother was attacked by one when she was just a hatchling." He squinted when he saw the flash of the large brown sail before a pair of powerful jaws appeared over the edge, forked tongue flicking out between its scaly lips.

"I think…" Flame muttered, raising his head to get a better look at the tan jaws. He recognized this synapsid. The strange scars that marred its tan colored muzzle was enough evidence for him. "I know this one. He's one of the strangest beasts I've seen. He's deadly too, attacking dinosaurs at random. He barely ever bites, only claws at them. Sometimes I think he is actually trying to carve something into the flesh. They don't look like normal scars when the wounds heal, if the victim survives that is. He's covered in the same types of scars."

"Why is he dangerous if he just scratches other dinosaurs?" Orchid asked, brown eyes wide with fear as she stared up at the Dimetrodon. "Unless he does bite. Those teeth look pretty scary. They look even scary than Coldbreath's and that's saying something. Can we keep moving now? I don't like the look of him. I don't like sailed-groundscrapers. I don't think I like groundscrapers in general, they seem like really scary creatures." Orchid stepped forward, brushing against Flame as she contained to stare at the Dimetrodon.

"To answer your first questioned," Flame grunted, stepping away from the frightened spiketail. "He has wounded many of my herd and other dinosaurs from other herds we would rest close to. Over half of the dinosaurs that he…marked, died. Within only days. They say that the mark burned like fire that would not stop. Their bodies were always hot like they had a fever. Some reported immense pain, while others…bleed out and not from just the wound."

"They weren't the Scarcarrier mark, where they?" Digger asked.

"No. Of cause not. No dinosaur can die from that, at least what I have heard. These were different. Larger, more complex." He watched as the synapsid peaked over the ledge, forked tongue still flicking in and out from his lips and nostrils quivering as he took in their scents. Slowly, he turned to the group of three travelers, yellow eyes landing on the orange Triceratops. He hissed at Flame, displaying his many different sized, deadly teeth.

"He even tried to wound my siblings and I, but our mother and father would not let him. They almost killed him. My father slammed his foot on his lower back. I don't know why he's not dead yet?"

"Was this sailed-groundscraper the same that marked your grandmother," Digger asked, long violet feathers fanned out as she glared up at the hissing Dimetrodon.

"Why would you…?" Flame trailed off looking up at the beast. He could envision the Dimetrodon's body appearance perfectly in his mind, having seen him so many times. Most of his body was tan with the typical lighter underside, his a dusty brown color. From the top of his head down to the tip of his tail, he was splattered a darker brown. The rest of the synapsid's body seemed to be sponged with a dull red-brown color, much liked dried blood. The beast also possessed four red-brown eyespots on either side of his sail. All of them were ringed with the same dark brown as his back, with a splash of dark brown in the center to mock the appearance of an eye. Then there was the scars that covered his body. He never noticed it, but the stories his grandmother told him about the sailed-groundscraper that attacked her when she was a hatchling had a description similar to the one standing on the cliff in front of him.

"That can't be the same one from my grandmother's stories," Flame hissed under his breath, shaking his head. "He shouldn't he alive. He should be dead. No beast can live that long. Especially not a beast like him. He should be dead."

Digger nodded at his words, standing up on Orchid's back. She flexed her tiny clawed forepaws, waiting for the Dimetrodon to crawl down the canyon wall and attack them. She could already feel the power of her electricity building inside her body. She would be ready for him if he decided to attack. "What is he doing now?"

Flame snorted. "How should I know? He attacked my herd at random times during the year. He had no rhyme or reason when he attacked, he just did. I know nothing of these beasts. He's probably just sniffing us like any other carnivore. Maybe he doesn't have that good of sight."

"Like you." Digger smirked at her comment, white electricity already dancing across her claws and teal beak.

"Shut up, crestbeak," Flame muttered under his breath, hotly glaring at the mauve feathered Oviraptor. "Maybe I'll just offer you up to him as a meal."

"But I'm too small to satisfy him. I'm sure a big, giant threehorn would be a much better meal. He would probably even have left overs for a second meal, or he could share it with his family."

"Things like that don't have families."

As if hearing the Triceratops, the Dimetrodon roared. Orchid screamed in response, pressing herself to the earthen wall as she stared wide-eyed at the tan scaled beast. His forked tongue flicked out between his scaly lips once more. He sniffed the air, stepping closer over the ledge he stood on. He recognized a few scents, like the Triceratops'. But the one that he focused on the most was the stale scent of a dinosaur no longer with the others. It was that of an Apatosaurus. He remembered seeing her a few times when she was just a mere child. Now she would be almost full-grown.

He sniffed the air again. Thinskin. A creature he enjoyed observing. He had befriended a few throughout his long life, but this one he did not recognize. Either way, he knew that she was related to the previous thinskin that had been the Apatosaurus' companion. The synapsid grunted. He did not have time for that now. He had to find the stone. He would help the three dinosaurs out, though. It would be a small thanks to the female thinskin that had dropped the stone. He had been searching seasons for it.

Grunting, the Dimetrodon turned away from the group, walking along the rocky ledge. His yellow eyes searched for the best way to help get the trio out of the shallow canyon. Within minutes, he found a large boulder that had broken off from one of the many pillars that had risen from the ground during the earthquake. Seeing as it was flat, it would be easy enough for the group to walk up.

He gave a few bark-like grunts before he began to push the rock down into the shallow canyon. The trio watched him cautiously, eyes wide with surprise as the rock slid down the earthy wall.

"Is he…trying to help us?" Orchid asked.

"I think so," Flame replied as he walked up to the massive piece of slanted stone that lay within the canyon. Without saying a word, the Triceratops scaled the rock and within moments, was out of the fissure. Orchid quickly followed suite, not wanting to be stuck in the canyon.

"How did he move such a heavy stone?" Digger asked, eyeing the Dimetrodon whom had not left yet.

Before Flame could answer, the synapsid spoke. His voice was raspy and held a strange airy tone that would dip and rise like the wind howling through a labyrinth of caves. "Where is it… The Stone… Where is it… I need to find it… The Stone."

Orchid shifted uneasily beside Flame, eyeing the sailed-groundscraper. She pressed herself close to the Triceratops. "Wh-what is it talking about?"

"The stone," the Dimetrodon hissed, his sail flushing red with blood, the four eyespots growing more vibrant and detailed. "I need it."

"We have no idea what you are talking about, groundscraper." Flame stepped forward, stamping his foot near the synapsid's head. "We thank you for the help, but we need you no more. You're the beast that tried to attack my siblings and me, almost killing my younger sister. I will not hesitate to kill you."

"The stone," he hissed once more before raising his head, sniffing the damp air. "The stone…" He turned away from the trio, heavily sniffing the air. Growling softly, he disappeared into the mists, having located the rune engraved rock Sorrel had dropped.

"That was weird," Digger commented.

"Yeah…but at least we're out of the canyon," Orchid wiggled with enthusiasm. "One step closer to Oak!"

Digger just rolled her eyes with a groan.


	8. Chapter Eight: Slate

Chapter Eight: Slate

Hyacinth walked beside the male Apatosaurus, unable to keep herself from marveling at his rippling muscles. She had never seen a sauropod with a physical physic like his. She had never seen a sauropod so powerful. The adolescent longneck knew he could take on the entire pack of Achillobator with a few whips of his massive tail and a stomp of his large feet. He could have taken on the two Skorpiovenators if he had not been trapped under the rocks that had fallen onto him during the earthquake. The gashes that the sisters had created only served to make him seem even fiercer. Bright red blood still oozed from the deeper lacerations, but they did not hinder him; his strides long and powerful. There was no sign of pain what so ever in his body language. Only a playful twinkle in his russet eyes and a smile play on his lips as he walked on.

Noticing she was staring at the blue-gray scaled male, Hyacinth tore her teal gaze away from him. She clenched her eyes closed, trying the clear her head as a blush dusted across her cheeks. It was not like she had a crush on him. No, he was much too old for her. He could be her father for all she knew. Still, she did not know why she felt so shy around this powerful male.

The adolescent glanced back at the male, a sudden idea spurring in her mind at the thoughts from moments ago. Could she and he be related? He _was_ old enough to be her father. He was an Apatosaurus. Their scales were even a shade of gray, albeit, not the exact color. Maybe…she could ask if he had any children.

Sorrel spoke up before the female longneck could open her mouth.

"What's your name, sir?" the young woman asked. She was seated on the middle of Hyacinth's back, legs crisscrossed and hiking bag placed in her lap.

"Slate, ma'am," he answered, sending a wink in Sorrel's direction. "And what is yours, thinskin?"

"Sorrel," the young woman answered with a smile.

Slate chuckled at her enthusiasm before turning to Hyacinth, a twinkle of delight shining in his russet eyes. "And what about you, little lady, huh?"

At this, the adolescent bashfully turned away from Slate, normally gray scales flushed red with embarrassment. She felt like she was being complemented by a superior much higher in rank than she was. Someone who would never look in her direction twice. It was like being complemented by the herd leader. Yes, that was how she saw him, as a leader. That was why she felt so shy around him. With his confidence and power, he must have been in the top ranks of his herd.

"Shy, aren't we?" the male laughed. As his chuckles faded, he turned to the looming, dark sky. Mentally noting that it was about to rain again, he watched the dark clouds collet and swirl in the sky once more. He could feel the air grow damper and the condensation colleting on his scales. He turned to look at Sorrel and Hyacinth at his right flank, seeing their worried faces. "Eh, don't worry about it. It'll just be another rainstorm."

Slate smiled down at them, happy his life was turning around again. He had escaped the hellish stuntedarm sharpteeth and now even had two traveling companions to keep him company on his long journey to the Great Valley. The massive Apatosaurus was even more excited to learn that one happened to be a thinskin, the type of creature he and his sister use to always play with when they were younger. He hoped to meet his beloved sister in the Great Valley. He knew she would love to meet Sorrel.

"Her name is Hyacinth," the young woman spoke up, realizing that her sauropod friend had become too shy to speak for herself.

"Hyacinth and Sorrel," Slate mused, his smile widening as he looked up at the sky once more. "Beautiful names." He let out a bark of laughter when he saw Hyacinth's blush grow brighter as she turned away from him once more. "Don't be shy, Hyacinth. I don't bite. Not like those sharpteeth." He grinned, showing off the typical peg-like teeth of his kind.

He laughed again as Hyacinth drew back even more, almost veering away from him. "Both your names are of flowers named by thinskins, correct?"

"How'd you know?" Sorrel asked, looking up at the mighty longneck as she rubbed comforting circles on Hyacinth's dark gray back.

"When I was younger, my family knew a family of thinskins. My nestmate, Dahlia, loved hanging out with the younger female of the family. They would share so many stories. Dahlia loved talking about all the different flowers that the thinskins knew. She loved that they had so many more names for them than just, green food, grass, or blue flowers. That's why, when she was only a hatchling and the female thinskin was a mere child, she insisted on being called Dahlia. Only I, the rest of my siblings, and our parents actually know her hatching name."

"Do you know anything else about the thinskin family? Maybe I know them. My great-aunt, Angela, use to dimension travel… until she passed away not too long ago."

"No. Sorry missy. Haven't seen them in years. That's part of the reason I'm searching for the Great Valley, other than finding a new home."

"You're going to the Great Valley too?" Hyacinth perked up, teal eyes wide with excitement.

"Yeah. You girls too?"

"Or course." Sorrel smiled. "Aunty Angie wanted me and Hyacinth to travel to the Great Valley before she passed away. She raised Hyacinth since she was just a hatchling." The young woman paused, twisting the golden, rune engraved ring on her slender finger as she tore her gaze from the blue-gray longneck. "We lost three other friends back there during the earthquake. They were trapped in a canyon. I really hope they are out by now. The predators may have gotten to them if they haven't yet."

"Do you want to go back for them? I can help." Slate offered, halting his movement, lashing his tail back and forth, a crack sounding in the air as it broke the sound barrier.

Sorrel shook her head. "Flame would probably kill us if he found out that we went back. He's an um…threehorn. He's not as bad as some, at least from the stories Aunty Angie told me and the stories I heard from Orchid, but he is still as prideful as any. He insisted that we keep moving because my great-aunt wanted us to go to the Great Valley. I have a feeling that a may have something to do with the legendary children. The ones who killed Sharptooth, the Terror of the Mysterious Beyond."

Slate hummed at her words. "Yes. I've heard of them. It's a remarkable tale, but I don't know if I believe it all." At the sound of a soft rumble, he looked up at the ever-darkening sky. Letting out a soft laugh, he shook his head, knowing that more rain would be coming very soon. He was in disbelief at the thought of so much rain that had fallen today, with more to come. He would have never believed another dinosaur if they had told him that over a sprinter's height of rain fell in the Dying Lands. There was a reason it was called that name.

"So much rain today," Slate muttered, a smile still gracing his scaly lips. "The Dying Lands almost never get rain. If they do, it's the tiniest of amounts. Very strange events today, don't you think, girls? You know, with the earthquake and the rain."

"I think it might be because of me," Sorrel mumbled, twisting her fingers in guilt. "My Aunty Angie gave me a strange rock. I didn't know I had it in my bag until I was here. It has a few runes engraved in it and it seems to react with this world. Last time I pulled it out, it caused a massive snowstorm and an earthquake. I… took it out today and an earthquake happened again. I don't know where it is now. I dropped it during the earthquake." The young woman looked up at Slate, but the Apatosaurus was gazing out at the darkening clouds, lips pursed. "So… um… why exactly are you going to the Great Valley?" Sorrel asked, not wanting to dwell on the earthquake.

"Like I said, finding a new place for my family and herd to live. I was sent out to make absolutely sure the Great Valley was real before we had the entire herd come out here. You know how elusive the myths about the Great Valley are. Sounds too good to be true, but so many dinosaurs have been there. I don't want any of the pregnant females needing to lay their eggs in this dying land if we end up not finding the Great Valley."

"What happened to your homeland?" Hyacinth asked softly, teal eyes wide with curiosity.

Slate sighed at the question. "The place where I live now was destroyed by an inferno. We believe it was started by a small rock fall. You know how sparks can fly when rocks clash together; we think one of the sparks may have landed in the grass. Our home was so dry. We hadn't see rain for months. The inferno burned away everything that was left, leaving the herd to scavenge for any leaves that remained. Then after that, sharpteeth attacked. The most I've ever seen in my life. Sickleclaws, ridgeeyes, stuntedarms, and even a smaller bonecrusher."

At those words, Sorrel and Hyacinth silently exchanged glances. Flame had told a similar story. One where many carnivores had also decimated his herd. Could it be that this was the same pack, or at least the same individuals working together to bring down an entire, mighty herd.

Slate continued his story, having not noticed Sorrel and Hyacinth exchange glances. "Many of our elders and younger herd members had already died; either from the fire or starvation. I guess you could say that we were lucky, in a way, with the drought. Most of the carnivores ignored us and ate the dead bodies of our fallen herd members. Still, some, like the stuntedarms that were attacking me early, like to hunt. That's all they care about. It's like a competition between the pack. Who can kill the most or who can take down the most dangerous of the dangerous." Slate shook his head, giving a sad sigh. "We lost at least half the herd before I even started this journey. I just hope my mate and son are okay."

"You have a mate?" Hyacinth asked.

"What? Disappointed that I'm taken, missy?" he asked, a grin splitting his face.

The adolescent shook her head, blushing once again. "No…I was just… wondering if…" she stopped, turning away from the male. "Maybe you were my father. I-I've been wanting to know who my parents were since I was a hatchling. Angela always said that they were probably dead, but… seeing you… I don't know… I feel like we…"

"Look alike?" Slate asked, in which Hyacinth nodded. "Well…I do have other siblings. From last I heard; Dahlia was courting someone. I don't remember his name though. Don't even know if they became mates." He shrugged as best as a sauropod his size could. "I don't even know if she had children or not. Heck, some of my other, older siblings, might have had more hatchlings. I haven't seen my parents or siblings for…seasons. It's a possibility. You could even be a child of one of my herd members. You kind of look like a friend of mine. You have the same eyes and gray scales."

Hyacinth nodded, hope filling her heart and a smile gracing her lips. She might just be able to find at least one of her parents in Slate's herd. "Are you the leader of the herd?" she asked, falling into step with the large male, teal eyes filled with wonder, like a hatchling listening to a tall tale.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "No, no. I'm the...third in command. The leader of the warriors. Not that us longnecks are any good at fighting, huh?" He cracked his whip-like tail in the air. A boom of thunder in the distance echoed in reply. Slate laughed once more, grinning. "Looks like the sky agrees with me."

"What's your herd like?" Sorrel asked, leaning forward in anticipation of the male's answer. "I've always been curious about dinosaur grouping dynamics. My great-aunt was never able to answer any of my questions because she and Hyacinth never lived in a herd before."

Slate shifted his russet gaze to Hyacinth, a scaly eye ridge raised at the gray female. "So you've never been in a herd before?"

Hyacinth bashfully shook her head, shying away from Slate once more. The blue-gray male chuckled at her response before continuing. "I might just have to take you in, if you don't mind. I'm sure the Great Valley would be the perfect place to live. You and Sorrel can live with my herd in the valley and still visit your other friends too. Then you both can learn about how a well led herd of longnecks work and act. Don't worry, Aware is a wonderful, kind leader. She'll love you two."

"Aware?" Sorrel questioned, she now the one raising an eyebrow. "That's a… interesting name."

Slate chuckled. "Her parents were part of a large herd and of the upper ranks. Most dinosaurs in top ranks are known for naming their children more abstract names. Her parents thought that she was so alert after she hatched, that they named her Aware."

"Then what's your child's name, hmm?" Sorrel asked, playfully smiling up at Slate. "Since you're third in command, are you guilty of naming them something strange?"

"Sadly, I am, but my mate and I loved the name: Marvel." He shook his head, a laugh bubbling from his throat. "He's such a little spitfire and… he's only a season or so younger than you, Hyacinth. So, what about my offer? Do you want to join my herd once we find the Great Valley?"

Hyacinth glanced to the young woman on her back. Sorrel grinned at her, nodding her head. The Apatosaurus returned the smiled, turning back to Slate. "Yes. I'll join your herd."

"Wonderful, Marvel will be happy to have another herdmate around his age." A sudden loud boom overhead caused the male to look up. His russet eyes searched the dark horizon. They suddenly lit up as he noticed something. Grinning, he looked over at Hyacinth and Sorrel. "Get ready for impact!"

"What?" Sorrel looked ahead, only to see a sheet of rain rushing toward them. Before she could say anything, the rain was upon them, soaking the young woman once more. Groaning, Sorrel brought her hands over her head. "More rain."

Slate laughed at her words, continuing to lead Hyacinth and her thinskin companion to the Great Valley.


	9. Chapter Nine: Yet another New Member

Chapter Nine: Yet another New Member

A singer's trumpet filled the air as Flame and Orchid pushed wearily onwards. The rain had begun again only minutes after the trio had struggled out of the canyon with the help of the strange Dimetrodon. Why the predator had helped them instead of shredding them to bits, the Triceratops could not figure out. However, in the end, he guessed that all that really mattered was that they were out of that canyon alive and relatively uninjured.

Flame raised his head to the pouring rain again, sighing as he let it bathe his burning wounds. His face was just as inflamed as before, if not more. His dark eyes were almost swelled shut, not that it mattered. His eyesight had not gotten any better since the scalding. Everything was still blurry and the curtain of steadily falling rain did not help any. Still, it soothed his heated skin and lessened the waves of pain that washed over him every time he moved his head.

As the large Triceratops opened his eyes, he watched another flake of charred scale fall from his face. He stared at it longingly as they passed the blacken scale. Most of the normally bright orange scales that covered his face had fallen away, leaving bright pink, tender skin. Numerous pus filled blisters also played across the burned surface. He knew that if he survived this hellish voyage, he would forever carry a scar. His scales would grow back, but not as bright, smooth, or shiny as the rest covering his body.

"You seeing okay, threehorn?" Digger's annoying chirp filled the Triceratops's ears as the small feathered dinosaur leaned over his frill. She peered down at the threehorn's burned face, a smug expression playing on her own, finely black feathered one.

"Shut up, crestbeak," Flame snarled. The thought of shaking his head to shed the pesky mauve Oviraptor entered his mind. Even though the urge was overwhelming, he ignored the idea. It would only make the pounding in his head worse. The rain, the burns, Orchid's annoying background chatter, Digger's snarky comments, his own deep thoughts. They were giving him one hell of a headache. Yes, it was best to just continue and keep ignoring the little mauve feathered adolescent's jabs. The sooner they reached the Great Valley, the better. He hoped that Hyacinth and Sorrel were also making their way to the Great Valley without too much difficulty.

Another trumpet of a singer filled the air. Flame raised his head into the increasingly heavy rain, eyes narrowed as he tried to locate where the sound came from. He listened to it for a long moment as they walked. The low, mournful call, like an eerie wind howling through the canyon. Moments later, the call was echoed, possessing the same low mournful tone. This one was only a pitch or so higher. The owner was younger than the first singer but clearly the same species.

Flame halted, breathing in the damp air, rainwater dripping from his beaked snout. Silently, he scraped the muddy ground with his right foot, the one that Digger had wounded. "They're mourning their dead."

A sudden, high-pitched cry pierced the damp air, followed by a panic-filled trumpet. Flame snorted at the sound, swinging his head to the side as he glared through the sheets of rain. "They're in trouble."

"We should help them." Orchid stepped forward, she too, peering through the sheets of rain. She glanced to Flame, but the wounded Triceratops did not move. Narrowing her eyes in disgust, she charged forward, the two pair of milky white spikes on her tail standing out in the pouring rain.

"Come on, threehorn." Digger tugged at Flame's left brow horn. "Follow the spiketail." Her soggy mauve feathers bristled as she tugged and pulled impatiently at his horn. After a long moment of the tiny Oviraptor's tugging, Flame finally began to trudge after the purple scaled spiketail. This detour would not help them get to the Great Valley any sooner, but there was nothing he could do about that now, since Orchid seemed determined to follow the distress call.

The rain and mud made the trek sluggish, but Flame could eventually pick out vague shapes of several large dinosaurs ahead of Orchid. He watched as a large pack of Achillobator ripped chunks of flesh out of a mud-brown scaled Corythosaurus. All the male could do was swat them away with powerful blows of his forepaws. His kind's best defense was their speed and sense of smell. They had no weapons nor were they big enough to scare the larger predators away.

"Get away from him!" Orchid screamed, charging forward into the pack of gray scaled, featherless raptors. They scattered, only to quickly regroup, hissing at the Stegosaurs. Orchid only glared back, swinging her spiked tail, ready to impale any that came too close.

Frowning, Flame charged forward with a mighty roar. He brow horn easily sinking into the torso of the nearest Achillobator. With one of their packmates skewered on the Triceratops's horn, the pack retreated a few paces back. They hissed and growled to one another, unsure what to do next. The large female stood at the very front of the group, orange eyes narrowed at the two large herbivores. " **Forget it** ," she hissed, turning to her pack. " **Feed on the damn dead. This is getting too tiresome. Go!"**

The featherless raptors scattered, eyes searching the carnage of the earthquake. Orchid turned back to the wounded, only to hear the sound of sobbing. She shifted her brown gaze to an adolescent male Corythosaurus. He lay at the side of a dead female, his mother. They shared the same dark brown scales, like the color of fertile soil. The wounded male nuzzled his crying son, both sharing the same fiery colored crest and ocean blue eyes.

"Crested singer?" Flame asked, stepping forward to greet the two Corythosaurus. He had recognized them as part of the small herd of singers that had been following them.

The older male tore away from his son, looking up at the Triceratops. Blood cascaded down the left side of his face, bits of skin and scale hanging from his lower jaw. Even though the attack of the Achillobator had been short-lived, it had caused a massive amount of damage. The older Corythosaurus' left flank was just as damaged, flesh torn to ribbons by the raptors' lethal sharp claws. The blood trickled from the gaping lacerations, mixing with the rainwater, mud, and his dead mate's blood, which continued to flow from her body.

"Theehorn?" he greeted warily, surprise lacing his voice. He was not use to other kinds speaking to him, especially a hornface. They were known as the most prideful and stubborn of leaf-eaters. They almost never agreed with other dinosaurs and stayed with their own kind.

With great effort, the singer raised to his full height. He struggled to keep his balance on his hind legs, his left continuously wanting to give out and the blood lost making his head light and vision spin. "What do you want?" The mud-brown colored Corythosaurus groggily stared at Flame, blood dripping from his beaked snout as he swayed to and fro.

"You're traveling to the Great Valley, correct? Come with us. You and your son. We can keep you safe from the predators." Flame bowed his head, the little Oviraptor on his frill almost falling off. She gave a loud trill, clinging to Flame's head shield as her soggy feathers bristled once more. Chirping inaudible curses under her breath and digging her tiny claws into the male's bright orange frill. Flame ignored her as he raised his head from the bow.

The brown-scaled Corythosaurus glanced down at his dead mate before looking to his still sobbing son. He dropped to his forepaws, splashing muddy water over the two larger herbivores. He watched his son a moment longer before turning to Flame and Orchid. He opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. Shaking his head wearily, the bleeding male sat down on the sodden ground, closing his eyes. After a long moment, he opened them, glancing to the deep gashes on his left flank before drawing his gaze to the dark brown female that lay just behind him. He sighed, tears welling up in his blue eyes.

His beautiful mate had been crushed during the earthquake. A rock pillar had shot up from the earth before crumbling moments later. She had been under it at the wrong time; killed instantly by the heavy rocks. The only way he had gotten her out from under the rubble was by shifting the heavy stones away and pulling her body out. He knew she had died instantly, but he could not leave her body to rot under a pile of rocks.

The wounded male turned back to his son, tears welling up in his eyes. The younger male looked up from his mother's dead body, sensing his father's gaze on his back. As the younger, darker scaled male watched the tears spill down his father's cheeks, his heart sank. He sat up, mud dripping from his paler underbelly, only a slight shade lighter than his father's mud-brown body. "Dad…no…"

The lighter brown-scaled Corythosaurus shook his head, ocean blue eyes filled with guilt. Wincing, he turned back to Flame, sighing. "Thank you for the offer, but I will not be coming with you." He turned back to his son as the tears continued to roll down his face, mingling with the blood that oozed from the wounds that marred the left side of his face. He tore his blue gaze away from the younger male's; guilt and sorrow filling his heart. Scraping his forepaw over the muddy ground, he continued. "I know that I have suffered fatal injuries, especially in a land like this." He pulled his left leg closer, blood oozing from the wounds as the damaged muscle flexed. "I can barely walk with all these injuries. I would only slow you down. Those sickleclaws will be back soon. My mate is already dead. She's food to them. They will also kill me. You, I, and they know that I don't have long. I can't survive wounds like this."

The male sighed, laying his head back on the muddy ground. "Please," his ocean blue eyes focused on Flame. "Take my son. He has only suffered minor injuries. He is young, he'll bounce back. I want him to live on. To keep our bloodline flowing through the veins of other crested singers. To keep our song alive." The mud-brown male turned to his son, smiling weakly at him.

"Dad…" the younger male whimpered, limping to his father. He brushed his bright, fired colored crest under the older male's chin. "I don't want to leave you. We were going to make it to the Great Valley together. Us and Mom."

"I know, Hymn. I know." He nuzzled his son, more tears falling from his ocean blue eyes, mingling with his son's. "I'll miss you, son. I'm sorry that our dreams of finding a better life will not come true. But we'll meet again. I promise you that." The older male pushed himself to a sitting position, reaching out his left forelimb and hugging the smaller Corythosaurus closer. "I'll miss you."

The older male knew of the fate that would become of him within hours. The scent of his blood would attracted more carnivores than just the pack of Achillobator. If he was not already dead from blood loss, he would be ripped to shreds by the hellish beasts that stalked the land. Only the knowledge that his son would be safe made his own outcome bearable. "Take care of him." He muttered, drawing away from his son as he slid down into the mud once more, his head feeling lighter than ever. His life was coming to an end.

"We will," Flame nodded solemnly. He stepped forward, pushing Hymn away from her father with his brow horns. "Come on, kid."

"Dad…" Hymn cried, reaching for his father, only for Flame to push him away. The adolescent retaliated in desperation, lashing out his dull-clawed paw with a vicious growl. "Stop! I want to stay with my dad!"

"Sorry, kid," Flame grumbled. His frill had taken the brunt of the attack, not that it was much. Only small scratches adorned the top of his frill, just between his brow horns. He pushed Hymn away, ignoring the singer's cries and struggles of protest. "You need to realize that this land isn't always forgiving and that we must do what we can to survive. Listen to your father. He's smart. He wants you to come with us. He wants you to live."

"That's right, Hymn. Go with them." The older Corythosaurus nodded, gasping for breath. "Go, please. It is too late for your mother and I, but you will carry on our song."

"But Dad…" Hymn whimpered. The dark brown male was given another push by Flame. The young male stumbled forward into the mud, but did not fall. His ocean blue gaze stayed focused on his father for a moment longer before Flame gave him another push, nose horn digging into his back. Whimpering, Hymn reluctantly padded away. Dejectedly, he snuck one last glace at his father, whom now laid beside his dead mate, Hymn's mother. The older male weakly smiled back at his son, acceptance of his fate twinkling in his own blue eyes. He knew his son would live on, and that was all that mattered. He could be sharptooth food for all he cared. He would soon be with his mate once more and his son would pass on their song.

"He's a goner, kid," Flame grumbled, still pushing the adolescent forward. "He will not survive those injuries much longer. If he doesn't die soon, the predators will get him."

"Flame!" Orchid hissed, tears streaming down her face, mingling with the rainwater that still fell in torrents from the dark sky. "His mom just died and his dad is about to. Don't make him suffer anymore."

The purple Stegosaurs walked beside the younger adolescent, nuzzling his back as she guided him away from Flame's deadly horns. "It'll be okay, Hymn. We'll take good care of you. We'll find the Great Valley and…" She trailed off, not knowing what other good could come out of the adolescent's situation. He had no siblings that they knew of and both his parents would be dead within an hour. He did not have anything to look forward to other than living in a safe place and having all the tastiest food he could eat and the freshest water he could drink. But that was little consolation to the young singer whose whole life had just been savagely ripped away from him.

"Why'd that stupid earthshake have to happen?" Hymn asked, numbly following the trio as he scuffed the ground with his forepaw. "Now Mom and Dad are dead. The rest of the herd scattered. Most of them fell into the cracks when the earth opened up. I don't even know where the others fled. They're probably all dead. Just me, the only crested singer in the whole Dying Lands."

Orchid turned sympathetic eyes to the young male. Even Digger was unusually quiet as the gravity of the situation settled on them. There was nothing left for the small, rag tagged herd to do but continue through the pouring rain. With luck, the rest of the trek to the Great Valley would be uneventful. Of course, with the nature of life in this untamed and mysterious world, that probably would not be the case.


	10. Chapter Ten: Dahlia

Chapter Ten: Dahlia

The rain finally began to let up as the hours slowly ticked by. Sorrel was soaked to the bone, but she no longer cared as the conversations between her and the two Apatosaurus kept her mind occupied. She would just have to wait for the weather to dry up before she even thought about changing clothes.

At the moment, the pair of Apatosaurus were chatting about Slate's childhood and the thinskins he and his siblings always played with. The young woman was captivated by the warrior's tales. It seemed that Slate was adventurous from the start. He would always drag his nestmate, Dahlia, along with him as well as the two sibling thinskins, a boy and a girl. He frequently disobeyed his parents' orders to stay close to the herd. He, his sister, and the thinskins tended to run off, looking for strange and exciting discoveries.

His boisterous nature never went away; even as he grew into the adult he was now. His sister, on the other foot, lost her adventurous attitude, especially after the thinskin family left one day and never returned. She was still playful, joking with him and their elder siblings, but would never stray too far from their parents. She was also a rather picky female when it came to males. She had only allowed one to court her and Slate did not think it would last. The male was too much like him. He loved to wander, and embraced an adventurous life, but his sister was still drawn to him.

"I know we'll meet Dahlia in the Great Valley. She would never leave Mom or Dad's side and she always wanted to stay in a place permanently. When we were adolescents and heard about that place, she instantly wanted to go there." The blue-gray male sighed, looking up at the still dark sky. A misty drizzle now fell from the gray clouds. He could also tell that the sun was setting, only able to see streaks of yellow and pinks through the fading patches of the dark, fluffy masses that floated through the sky.

As he settled his gaze forward, his keen eyes spotted something in the distance. It lay on a small, rocky outcrop, surrounded by rubble. He narrowed his eyes in thought as he sped up his pace, Hyacinth quickly matching his stride. The adolescent Apatosaurus had also spotted the large mound of yellow cracked earth up ahead.

Sorrel stood up on Hyacinth's back as the sauropod strode forward, peering over the female's shoulder to get a better look at what laid ahead. She sucked in a sharp breath as she began to make out the massive vertebra of a dead sauropod. Gripping Hyacinth's darker back scales, she leaned over the female's shoulder even more. Sorrel's dark eyes traveled the length of the large skeleton, scanning the weathered and cracked yellowed bones. She noted that almost all of them were intact from where it lay.

"Wow," the young woman breathed as the pair of Apatosaurus finally stopped, standing in front of the skeleton. She tapped Hyacinth, the adolescent instantly lowering her neck to the ground to allow Sorrel to slip off her from a safe height. Once her feet were on solid ground, Sorrel approached the skeleton, hand placed over her mouth in thought as her dark eyes scanned the bones. In death, the sauropod laid on its belly, hind legs tucked at its sides and front legs positioned as if it was trying to stand. The tail was loosely curled around its body where the dinosaur had fallen, most likely from the collapse of the mound of rock it lay on. The skeleton was almost was big as Slate.

Sorrel circled the skeleton once before stopping at its upper back. She knelt down, brushing her fingers along the cracked vertebra. In one place, she noticed the very tips of the vertebra column were broken off, as if by the jaws of something very powerful.

The young woman slowly raised back to her feet, eyes gazing over the sauropod body. "I think it's an adult Apatosaurus, like you two. It may have died from wounds" sorrel commented, studying the cracked back bones. "There wasn't enough damage to paralyze it, but it would have been extremely painful to move." She crossed her arms over her chest, looking up at Slate, who was solemnly looking over the skeleton. "They're old. They've been out here for a long while. I wonder what their story was."

"A young mother protecting her child," answered a deep, gruff voice. An elderly Scolosaurus hauled himself from the pile of rocks he was sleeping in. With each movement, his joints popped and cracked, but he managed to pull himself out of his bed of rock. The green scaled, armored dinosaur waddled over to the trio, heaving himself up large rocks until he was standing next to them on the small outcrop.

"I haven't seen anyone around here for a long time." He chuckled, standing next to Hyacinth, a lazy smile playing on his tan scaled lips. He stared up at Slate, dark brown eyes filled with interest. "She looked similar to you, boy."

"Boy?" Slate asked, taken aback. "I am not a _boy_ , sir."

"Compared to me, you are," the Scolosaurus chuckled, shaking his head, a sudden bitterness entering his voice. "The name's Rooter. I watched the battle between her and the Walking Terror of the Mysterious Beyond, Sharptooth. Poor girl." He turned his gaze to the skeleton of the dead female. "Had a heart-to-heart chat with her son. Poor thing. Saw the little boy kill that bastard of a monster before he made it to the Great Valley."

"What?" Hyacinth asked. "Are you talking about one of the legendary children?"

"Sure I am. Littlefoot, I think was his name." Rooter looked to the darkening sky, absentmindedly chewing on an invisible plant. "Sad little thing. Came to me not long after his mother died. Talked some sense into him." He turned to Hyacinth. "He ought to be around your age, little girl. Same type of longneck too."

"Really?" Hyacinth asked, teal eyes wide with surprise. It seemed that Orchid was right about some things. The longneck of the legendary five was the exact same type as she, and was a he. Now she even knew his real name, Littlefoot. However, she did think it was quite a strange name for a longneck, who were known for having the largest feet of all dinosaurs. Now that Hyacinth had that information, the adolescent began to think about what he would look like. Would he be white or pale gray like Orchid predicted?

"Glad the rain stopped." Rooter's voice drew the trio out of their musings. "Was worried I would be forced out of my little alcove down there. That almost happened during that one other earthshake. Let myself get buried in some rocks before too. Keeps me a little safer, I guess." He chuckled, flopping down onto the ground, lazily staring up at the trio. "Joints still ached back then."

As he gazed up at them, he finally noticed Sorrel. The slender, young woman was standing beside Hyacinth's right foreleg, writing in a small, leather bound journal. It was one of the few her great-aunt had not written in. Like all of the hand-sized journals, the leather cover was covered in strange runes, which prevented any damage happening to the paper or the lead writings that marked it.

"Well, I'll be…" Rooter breathed, heaving himself to his feet once more. "A thinskin. I never thought I would see one in my simple life out here in the Dying Lands." He approached Sorrel, the popping of his joints and creaking of his bones notifying the young woman of his approach. "Please to me you, Miss."

Sorrel looked up from her writing, beaming at the elderly Scolosaurus. "Thank you, Rooter. It's nice to meet you too. I'm Sorrel," the blonde, short haired female greeted. "This is my first journey to this world. It seems that there are a lot of dinosaurs that haven't seen a thinskin before. But…" she trailed off, slipping the pencil and journal back into her hiking bag. "I hear so much about thinskins. It sounds like every dinosaur knows about them, but only a few have seen them."

"Oh, there are many around here; we just don't get many of _your_ kind. The travelers. The thinskins that live here are very elusive. Barely ever see those types out here. Nope. They're always in their caves and never will come out. Got other dinosaurs living with them to keep them safe. Bet you their hostile too, like sharpteeth." Rooter shook his head, turning to Slate who was still scanning the skeleton of the dead female Apatosaurus. "You know, boy. You share the same eyes with the kid."

"Wh-what?" Slate asked, turning to look down at the green clubtail. Just those simple words caused his heart to pound in his chest. He had a bad feeling in his gut ever since Rooter spoke of the owner being a young mother. He just knew something was very wrong. He did not want it to be true, but the thought in the back of his mind kept nagging him. With dread filling his soul, he listened to Rooter continue his explanation.

"You have the same eyes as the kid, Littlefoot," the Scolosaurus repeated, shifting in the mud so he was more comfortable. He stretched his legs out, only inches away from Sorrel, before letting himself sink into the thick mud. Almost his entire tan scaled underside was covered in thick, slimy mud. Rooter rested his head on the muddy ground, closing his eyes. "You both have red-brown colored eyes. Almost like dried blood. Kind of a strange eye color for a leaf-eater when you think of it. But, you and the kid have it." His dark brown ones opened, staring up at Slate. "You have the same markings as the female, too. Your lower jaw is lavender, like your throat and stomach, while hers was a dark cream."

"Wh-what else do you remember about her?" Slate stuttered, body trembling in fear as his mind slowly pieced together the information. He already knew who it was, but he could not be certain until he had every last detail. He did not want it to be her. But he knew, he just knew whose bones lay beside him. "What else did she look like?"

"Well…" Rooter stretched out on the muddy ground again, joints popping. He rolled to his side, revealing his mud slicked underbelly. "She looked like any other flathead longneck. Mostly gray scaled. I think the same shade as the girly standing next to you. Her under side was a…dark cream, which only reached her lower jaw, just like your lavender color. She had the typical darker back stripe that I've seen in almost all longnecks. Her eyes...? I have no idea what the color her eyes were. I wasn't that close to the battle. Didn't want to be, either. Would have been killed by that bastard, Sharptooth. I might want to die, but not by the jaws of a predator."

Ignoring his last comment, Slate asked in a shaky voice, "di-did you see anyone else with her…?"

"Hmm…believe the morning of the earthshake I saw a pair of elderly longnecks with her. Both gray, darker back stripes. Typical flathead longnecks. Probably her parents."

At the elderly Scolosaurus words, Slate sucked in a shuddering breath. Clenching his russet eyes tight, he slowly turned to the skeleton that lay beside him. His body trembling with grief, he opened his eyes to stare down at the remains, tears rolling down his cheeks. Sniffing, he shakily lowed his head, pressing his snout to the weathered cracked, yellow skull. Dahlia?" he asked, voice barely audible. "Is that you, Sister?"

He sniffed once more, more tears flooding down his blue-gray scaled cheeks. This was his sister. He knew it from the start when Rooter began speaking. Sharptooth was killed over ten cold times ago. Slate had not had any contact with any of his family for an even longer period than that. This skeleton was old and in normal circumstances, it would have been destroyed. However, out here, in the Dying Land, barely anything survived. Hardly any carnivores stalked the land to eat the flesh of her dead body or break her bones for the marrow within. No, by the time they would have found her rotting carcass, the meat would have been too decayed, even for them to consume. Once her flesh had withered away, the bones no longer held enough sustenance for even the smallest of sharprteeth. There her bones lay for many cold times, bleached by the sun's powerful rays and withered by the harsh winds that blew across the hellish landscape.

Slate ran his snout along his dead nestmate's spine, feeling the places where Sharptooth had cracked it. Where she suffered the terrible bite wound to the back. Where her lifeblood bleed out before her while she spoke her last words to her son… to his nephew.

The male knew, logically, that there was always a chance of something like this happening to any of his family members. It had never occurred to him till now, standing in front of his sister's long dead body, snout pressed against her brittle, weather beaten bones. "Dahlia…" Slate whimpered, lowering his body to the ground to lay beside his nestmate. "I can't believe this happened to you. My sister. My nestmate. My best friend. I was supposed to meet you in the Great Valley with Mom and Dad. I thought we agreed on that when I left for another herd. That I would see you again. I told Marvel so much about you. He, my son, was so excited to meet you. 'The aunt that went on all of Dad's adventures with the thinskins'. I was hoping you would have children for him to play with, cousins. He's so lonely in my herd…"

Hyacinth watched the powerful male whisper to the skeleton that he now lay beside, dumbfounded. How had they managed to, not only find an adult Apatosaurus skeleton, fully intact, but also their new traveling companion's sister. The adolescent awkwardly stepped away from Slate. She gave him room not only to mourn but because she was becoming uncomfortable staring at the skeleton of the longneck. It was the exact type of sauropod she was and it was Slate's sister. It felt like she knew Dahlia from the stories Slate had told her and Sorrel only minutes before. The adolescent felt queasy the longer she stared at the young mother's skeleton.

Taking in a small, shuddering breath, Hyacinth turned away from the remains of Dahlia. She focused her teal gaze on the muddy Scolosaurus. "What happened to her? How _did_ she die?"

"I told you, she was killed by Sharptooth," Rooter answered, rolling onto his stomach and staring up at the adolescent, dark brown eyes hooded with sleepiness.

"No," Hyacinth shook her head. "I want to know more than just that."

"She was defending her child from Sharptooth. Actually, not just her child, but a threehorn hatchling and a thinskin youngling." Rooter smiled bitterly, shaking his head. "I was pretty surprised at the sight. Never seen a longneck defend a hornface. Most herds in these lands are segregated, extremely segregated. I've seen some hornfaces not get along with another type of hornface. It's ridiculous."

Rooter looked to Slate and Dahlia's skeleton, smiling sadly at the memories that now flooded his mind. "Sharptooth ripped her back to bloody shreds, that bastard. He killed my mate long ago. Those poor kids, watching that battle. All the blood, the flesh, the roars and bellows of pain. They must be scarred for life." Rooter stood up, shaking the mud from his green, armored body.

"I feel like that thinskin child was the most traumatized of the three. The look in that girly's eyes when she left with the longneck hatchling. She was terrified. Don't think she got any sleep for days. Too bad that bastard didn't die when he fell into that gorge. Don't understand how he survived that fall. Any normal dinosaur would have died. Still, glad the little longneck and his friends killed him. But now I don't have any other entertainment around here. Just lay around in this wasteland and sleep."

"What?" Hyacinth questioned, confused by the overload of the elderly dinosaurs' words.

"Thinskin?" Sorrel asked, excitement filling her at the thought of another human. She would met the other girl in the Great Valley; she could feel it. If the blonde haired woman's timelines were correct, the other girl would be only a few years younger than her. Sorrel could have another person to relate to in the valley. Another girl to talk with. Sure, she was not a girly-girly, but there were a few feminine things that the young woman could not really talk about with the dinosaurs. They would not understand.

"I have a nephew!" Slate announced, tear stained face lookink up from Dahlia's bones. "I have a nephew out there!"

Rooter turned to Slate, smiling at the blue-gray scaled male. "You sure do. He should still be in the Great Valley. Don't think he and his friends have left since…" he trailed off, searching for the correct event. Unable to remember it clearly, he continued, "that one incident only a few cold times ago."

Slate turned back to his sister's bones, smiling sadly. Sniffling, he nuzzled them once more. "You still live on. I'll make sure to tell him all about our adventures. I bet you that thinskin with Littlefoot is Janet's child, huh? You and her were always so close."

Sorrel watched Slate for a long moment before turning to Hyacinth. Brushing her hand against the adolescent's leg, she ushered the sauropod to lay down. They would stay here for the night and let Slate mourn his long dead sister. As the young woman and female longneck settled in, they let the cool night air wrap them in its embrace. An eerie silence settled onto the harsh land, broken only by the gruff musings of the elderly Scolosaurus. The two companions absorbed the wisdom of Rooter until they eventually fell into a restless sleep.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Tension

Chapter Eleven: Tension

"Stupid sharpteeth. Stupid earthshake," Hymn muttered under his breath, kicking up a few pebbles as he ambled behind Flame and Orchid. At his words, the purple Stegosaurs glanced over her shoulder, watching the singer for a moment before turning her attention back to the uneven ground they walked upon. She had been keeping an eye on the mopey dinosaur since he had joined them. She was worried he would run off, seeing that he had not been very happy with traveling with her, Flame, and Digger. Only a few days had passed since his parent's death, but he seemed to be faring well enough. He was not too social with his new traveling companions but still ate and drank whenever they found food and water.

"It's all just the circle of life," Flame mumbled back, annoyed at the younger male's complaints. "Everyone will die someday, just matters when. Now shut your mouth, singer."

The Corythosaurus grumbled at the orange Triceratops' words. Lashing out a forepaw once more at the ground, he kicked up a few more small pebbles. They rolled across the uneven ground, coming to a stop next to a larger rock jutting upwards. "I'm going to kill those sharpteeth."

"I would like to see you try," Digger sneered from between Orchid's dark violet plates. "You couldn't even take on one sickleclaw, let alone an entire pack."

"Oh yeah!" Hymn shouted. A small trumpet followed his retort as he scraped his dull-clawed paw over the still damp ground. "Come at me, stupid crestbeak!"

"Excuse me?" Digger snapped, hopping to the end of Orchid's tail, standing between the four deadly spikes that adorned it. Her mauve colored down fluffed out in anger as she glared at Hymn. "Why must all you leaf-eaters have it out for us crestbeaks?" She flapped her forearms in anger, long violet feathers fanning out on her tail tip and along her arms. "Over half you stupid bumbling beasts push me aside or threaten to squash me into the ground with your big feet all because I can eat something other than plants!"

"That's just it!" Hymn shouted, balancing on his hind legs. "You eat things that aren't plants. You kill hatchlings and eat the unborn! You're monsters just like all the other non-leaf-eaters!" The dark brown hadrosaur gave a loud trumpet before dropping down on all fours. Huffing, he racked his forepaw over the ground, preparing to charge. With another trumpet, he ran at Digger, ready to crash into Orchid if necessary.

Hymn and his herd had always had bad encounters with crestbeaks and other dinosaurs they deemed as egg stealers. A few of his close friends' parents had eggs stolen by the dusty and gray-feathered omnivores that lived in the desert. His mother had even told him that his nestmates were killed by creastbeaks and he almost was too. They were a danger to any eggs laid during the herd's travels. Because of that, every type of egg stealer, crestbeak or fast runner, was killed on sight.

The mauve Oviraptor squawked, fluttering off Orchid's tail when Hymn charged. There was no need for the Stegosaurs to become involved. Fluffing out her feathers even more, her entire body crackled with electricity. Hissing, she flapped her wing-like forearms, white electricity dancing through her dull pink down and flashing along her beak and crest. "I have never killed a hatchling. I've only eaten a few eggs. That was only when I could not find anything else and the eggs were dead or would be dead without a mother nearby to care for them."

The white electricity she had gathered arced from her tiny, cat-sized body and into Hymn's. The dark brown Corythosaurus cried out in pain as the high voltage of electricity entered his right forepaw, much like what happened to Flame a few weeks ago. Hymn hobbled backwards, his loud trumpet filling the air. As the initial pain died down, he glared at the little omnivore. Blood now dripped from the charred flesh of his right paw, which he held inches from the ground. Gnashing his teeth, he trumpeted at Digger. Rearing up on his hind legs once more, he readied himself to smash her into the ground like so many of his herd members had done to her kind before.

"Stop!" Flame shouted, charging between the brawling pair. He grunted as Hymn's forepaws slammed into his side, but he did not budge. Glaring back and forth between the two adolescents, the Triceratops spoke. "You're both acting like spoiled brats. We can't afford to fight or become wounded. The closer we get to the Great Valley, the more predators there will be. They know that it is located nearby and they know that there are always dinosaurs traveling to it. They may not know where the entrance is, but they still know that leaf-eaters are coming in and out of the Valley all the time."

Flame then turned his attention specifically to Hymn. "You, singer, will get us all killed. You can't make those noises every time you get over emotional about something so trivial. It will attract predators. I'm surprised there aren't any here right now with all the ruckuses you were making. And now that you're wounded," the threehorn turned to glare at Digger who only glared back at him, "we will be slowed down and you won't be able to fight. That is, if you even know how."

The Triceratops' dark brown graze darted between the two adolescents. Neither seemed affected by his harsh words as they both still scowled at one another from underneath his stomach. Growling, Flame stomped his foot in irritation. "Digger! On Orchid's back, now! Hyman, beside my right flank!"

"No!" Hymn stomped his foot like a spoiled child. "What if I want to die? I want to see my mom and dad again! I don't want to be with a know-it-all-threehorn, a stupid spiketail, and a child eating crestbeak!"

"What?" Digger shouted from her new position between Orchid's plates. "I already told you, you stupid leaf licker, I don't eat hatchlings!"

"Hymn," Orchid spoke, voice soft as she stared up at the Corythosaurus with doleful brown eyes. "Both your parents wanted you to come with us to the Great Valley. Their last wish was that you lived on and created your own family. To continue their song. Don't you want to keep their wish?"

The purple Stegosaurs dropped her gaze back to the ground, scuffing the ground with her forefoot. The ruckus Hymn had created since he joined the traveling group several days ago was stressing her out. She had thought it would be nice having another adolescent traveling with them. Someone that was around her age and size that she could chat with. Flame was always too grumpy and Digger was just too snippy for her liking. Sadly, Hymn turned out to be just as bad, if not worse than the other two. How she missed Hyacinth's and Sorrel's companionship. She only hoped they were safe.

Although Hymn had been eating and drinking fine since he had joined the rag-tagged group, he was an extremely mopey dinosaur and easy to anger. Even the simplest of phrases set him off into a rant about how stupid something was. This had caused Orchid to quiet down over the past few days, having learn her lesson when Hymn shouted at her to shup up and called all spiketails stupid. She kept her wild, long running thoughts to herself. She even had a few, very strange, conversation within her head with a few made of characters just to past the time since she no longer felt comfortable speaking aloud.

"I wish Hyacinth was with us." Orchid mumbled. "She always liked listening to me tell stories. I kind of miss my family too…" she trailed off, looking up at the other three travelers, hoping to get a response out of them. No one spoke. Digger and Hymn were still pouting over their squabble and Flame could not care less. Sighing dejectedly, Orchid let her head hang. She could already hear Hymn muttering insults under his breath.

"Who's Hyacinth?" he whisper to himself as he limp along, not caring if the others hear him. "Why would she want to listen to a spiketail blabber on all day about nothing? She must be a stupid spiketail too. Only spiketails get along with other spiketails. Missing family. My entire family is dead. I'll never seen them again. All because of that stupid earthshake and those sharpteeth. I'm going to kill one as soon as I see one."

"Will you shut up already, you spoiled brat," Digger hissed from her perch between Orchid's plates. "I've had enough of your stupid segregation mumbling and that your poor family died. All of us have lost family before. Some more than others. Either shut up or talk about it like a normally mourning dinosaur."

"Revenge isn't good either," Orchid mumbled, adding into the conversation. "My friend Pebble was killed by Coldbreath, the Walking Terror of the North. Her father was killed when he sought revenge. He went after Coldbreath and we never saw him again. Some of my herd believe that they heard his dying scream that night and the triumphant roar of Coldbreath moments later. Revenge is bad. You shouldn't do it. I know another dino-"

"Whatever," Hyman interrupted Orchid. "I already heard that lesson a million times from the herd teacher. 'If your parents are killed, don't go after the sharptooth that killed them. You will only get yourself killed.'" The dark brown crested-singer shook his head with a loud huff of disbelief, flaunting his fiery colored crest. "Why would any dinosaur let the ones who killed their family, live?"

"Because, like your teacher said, you could die," Flame answered, dark gaze focused ahead on the gloomy horizon. "There are still others who love you, and you have to live for them. Or, in your case, live out your parents' dreams. Create a family, have children, live a peaceful life in the Great Valley with other dinosaurs like yourself. Don't get yourself killed over revenge. It's just an endless cycle. Too many of my herd members have lost their lives over revenge. A sharptooth kills their brother, they kill the sharptooth in retaliation, then the sharptooth's sister kills them; their father kills the sharptooth…"

Hymn did not reply, his ocean blue gaze drawn to the ground. He guessed Flame was right about that, but still… He would just kill the entire pack. No one would go after him and if he was in the Great Valley… He would be protected and safe for any sharptooth. Besides, there was no one left to kill that was close to him. His parents were already dead.

Suddenly, a roar echoed over the damp, fog shrouded landscape. The three travelers stopped in their tracks, ears trained to the sound. Digger peaked up from behind one of Orchid's plates, green eyes searching the rocky terrain for the source of the roar. "Sounds like a big one this time." She then slunk back between the dark violet plates.

The roar sounded again before the figure made itself known from behind several large boulders. It was a dark, brown-scaled Skorpiovenator. She happened to be one of the females that had encountered the other half of the mixed herd several days ago. She sniffed the air before her amber eyes fell upon the three herbivores. Licking her chops, she gave them a toothy grin. It was fresh meat, her sister would be happy with this kill.

Giving a thunderous roar, she stomped a foot to the damp earth. She knew better than to blindly charge a threehorn and a spiketail. She would wait for one of them to make the first move.

"Now's your chance, singer," Flame muttered, pushing the dark brown Corythosaurus toward the waiting Skorpiovenator. "You want revenge, may as well take out any sharptooth you see. You'll be helping out a lot of other families by doing that. It'll also make it easier when you decide to take out that entire pack of sickleclaws. Practice makes perfect." He gave another nudge, the singer sliding forward.

Dark Talon glared down at the dark brown adolescent, licking her lips once more. Were they offering up a prey item for her? How smart. Stepping forward, jaws dripping with salvia, she roared at her prey. Hymn only stared back at her, dark blue eyes wide with fear. He was trembling, unable to move. With each step the Skorpiovenator took closer to him, the more it felt like he would pass out.

"Flame!" Orchid hissed beside him, glaring at the Triceratops. "Stop! It's going to kill him!"

"He said he wanted to die. Now's his chance," Flame growled back, pushing the trembling Hymn closer to Dark Talon. "He can either fight it like he boasted, or sacrifice himself. That's what you wanted, right, singer?"

"No!" Hymn cried out, pressing his body close to the ground as he stared up at the Skorpiovenator. "I didn't mean it! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

Flame rolled his eyes, huffing. "Wimp. Going back on his word." Flaunting his brow horns, the Triceratops roared at the stalking female. He now stood beside Hymn once more. Waving his head back and forth, he warned her to back off.

Dark Talon growled back at the Triceratops, confused. Had he not just been offering the adolescent singer to her? Stupid leaf-eaters. She only returned the orange herbivore's roar, closing the gap between them. The Triceratops stepped back, ready to puncture the female's gut with his brow horns.

Dark Talon's amber eyes were locked on the back of his neck, just behind his impressive frill. All she cared about was killing him and bringing back a fresh kill for her injured sister. Golden Gaze's wound still had not heal enough for her to hunt. It had barely changed since the thinskin's knife had pierced her shoulder. It was as if it the blade had inhibited the wound from healing.

Just as Dark Talon's fangs grazed Flame's back, agony coursed through her. Before she could draw away from the deadly horn, Flame swung his head upwards, right brow horn tearing open flesh. Her screech was deafening, even to her own ears as she fell on top of the Triceratops. Flame silently backed away, letting her slid off his body and to the ground. He watched, face like stone as she lay there, her amber eyes wide with pain and fear as her steaming entrails lay next to her. Her hot blood poured from her body as she stared up at him in disbelief. What had just happened?

The Skorpiovenator struggled to stand up, but the pain and lack of functioning forelimbs prevented her. Already, her head grew light from blood lost, her life slipping away by the second. She cried out her sister's name as she entered the world of darkness.

Flame stepped closer to the young adult and her call faded and her head fell limp. Her amber eyes stared up at him, dull as her life faded with each beat of her heart. The threehorn raised a foot to her skull, face still like stone. He brought his foot down, crushing her skull and ending her life. Turning away, he contained walking west, Orchid and Hymn dumbstruck.

"H-how could you do that?" Orchid stuttered, stepping away from the dead Skorpiovenator.

"Why did you do that?" Hymn shouted back, running up to Flame. "Why did you kill it? You should have let it suffer."

Orchid turned to the singer in disbelief as she began to trot after the pair. "How can you say such a horrible thing? Everyone deserves to live, even sharpteeth."

"No they don't! Sharpteeth-"

"Most sharpteeth only kill for food," Flame interrupted. "I'm not going to let a creature suffer just because others of their kind have made me suffer. It is not their fault they can only survive on the flesh of others."

Before Hymn could answer, another roar echoed through the air. Unintentionally, the Corythosaurus pressed himself closer to Flame, staring out in the direction the roar had come from. Flame glared at him, before a satisfied smirk made its way onto his lips. He was glad that as soon as they got to the Great Valley, he would be able to rid himself of all three of his annoying traveling companions. Hopefully, he taught all of them some lessons on their travel.

 **Note: Crestbeaks is what I personally call any type of Oviraptor-like dinosaur. I think fast runners fit the ornithomimids better as they are built for speed.**

 **To the guest that commented on my last chapter: You'll get a little bit of backstory much later. Actually, you'll learn a tiny bit more about sharptooth in chapter 13. I'm not exactly sure when you'll get to know about some of the other background, but I know I will need it sometime once I reveal a few of the twists I have planned (Muhahahaha!). Sadly, Sharptooth did not survive the fall. It was just a fluke that the Gang of Five killed him. The rock crushed his chest, hampering his breathing, and then he may have hit his head on some sharp rocks that we just couldn't see in the movie. He then was knocked unconscious and ended up drowning. I have a plotline that revolves around his death, so he needs to stay dead. I do have a reason why he was able to survive the fall, fight off other large predators and herbivores, and jump like no T. rex should. Jungle Fang (the Giganotosaurus from movie 5) is very similar in that aspect. If you want to learn more, you can make an account and PM me. I don't mind chatting.**


	12. Chapter Twelve: A Wish

Chapter Twelve: A Wish

Several days had passed since Sorrel, Hyacinth, and Slate had spent the night with Rooter. It had been slow traveling during the days following the knowledge of his sister's death. The normally happy male could barely pick up his feet as he walked beside Hyacinth. His beloved sister, his nestmate, Dahlia, had died several cold times ago and he had only found out about it now. The grief he felt overwhelmed him, weighing him down with each step. The only thing that kept him in pace with the younger Apatosaurus was the knowledge that his nephew lived in the Great Valley. That also meant there was a possibility that his parents would also be there, having been with Dahlia since she laid her eggs.

"What's that ahead?" Hyacinth asked, gently nudging the male with her snout as her pace slowed. "Is it…?"

Slate tore his watery gaze from the ground only to be met with the sight of a massive rock. It loomed over the trio, looking down at them like a loving mother towards her children. It was a monolith shaped like a sauropod: massive body, long neck, long tail, and all four, pillar-like legs. The early morning sun casted its light over the monolith, the shadow created, bathing the travelers in its shade.

"The rock that looks like a longneck," Slate breathed, slowly approaching the monolith. "We've made it to the rock that looks like a longneck. We're almost there. We're almost to the Great Valley. Just another day, traveling the pass between the smoking mountains. We'll be there. I'll be able to see my nephew. Dahlia's child." Slate stomped down the sloping hill they stood on, a smile plastered on his snout.

"Slate! Wait up!" Hyacinth shouted, running after the male. She stopped beside the large male sauropod, who stood next to the mighty stone, still smiling.

"This is amazing," Sorrel breathed, staring up at the sauropod shaped rock. Her eyes narrowed at the small, dark splotches that decorated it. "And... what are those?" she trailed off, tapping Hyacinth's shoulder so that the Apatosaurus would lower her to the ground.

Slipping from the gray sauropod's neck, she approached the rock. Brushing her hand along the dark splotches, she began to make out the forms of crudely painted dinosaurs. It was so faded that she almost missed the human stick figures with spears. One picture was of a group of humans standing in front of a sauropod, flaunting their spears at a large, short-armed carnivore.

"It looks like humans lived in this place a long time ago, or at least passed through. There's paintings on this stone." Sorrel brushed her fingers along the sauropod painting. "They were protecting a sauropod, a longneck like you guys."

"Does that mean anything?" Hyacinth asked, lowering her head to Sorrel's, staring at the picture with the young woman.

"No. I don't think so, other than that the humans who previously came to this world, befriend herbivores a long time ago. Strange." Just then, a pale, gray speck floated into Sorrel's line of vison. Blinking at it, the young woman held her hand out, letting it land onto her palm. She stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out what it was.

Another flake fell from the sky, followed by several more. A hot sulfuric scent soon filled the air, causing Sorrel to gag. "Ash." With her hand covering her nose and mouth, she looked to the volcanos ahead of them. Smoke billowed from the mighty, burning mountains. "I can't believe a safe haven like the Great Valley would be surrounded by active volcanoes. With them so close, I would think that something horrible would happen. Explosion, suffocation, fire damage…"

"I heard of one legend that the Great Valley is protected by an unseen force. It's what keeps the greens growing back faster than any other place and the water fresh and always flowing," Slate commented, he too staring at the burning mountains.

A sudden gush of bright yellow lava spewed from the top of the smolder volcano, causing both female's to gasp. Sorrel took a few paces away from the monolith, trying to get a better view of the spewing rock, while Hyacinth coward away in fear.

"Wow," Sorrel breathed. "I've never seen a real volcano in my life. This is amazing."

"No, it's not, Sorrel," Hyacinth whimpered from behind Slate. "It's scary. That firewater could kill you within seconds. Why would you want to be close to something like that?"

The blonde haired woman shrugged before turning back to her sauropod friend. "We should keep going. Don't want the others catching up to us."

"Right," Hyacinth nodded, lowering her neck to the ground, allowing Sorrel to climb onto it. "I can't believe we'll be meeting the legendary children soon, and one of them is your nephew, Slate. Though," the gray Apatosaurus giggled. "Littlefoot is a strange name for a longneck, don't you think?"

The blue-gray male silently shrugged, russet eyes locked on the monolith once more. He scanned the human paintings for a moment as the females exchanged a small conversation with one another.

"Orchid won't be happy that she didn't get the prediction of the legendary longneck right," Hyacinth grinned, craning her neck to look down at Sorrel perched between her shoulder blades. "She thought he was going to be pale gray with golden eyes and named Cirrus. She got that wrong."

"But she did get it right that he was a male. And you never know, Hyacinth, you might end up falling for Slate's, surely, handsome nephew," Sorrel jived.

The longneck rolled her teal eyes at the young woman's words. Her gleeful smile then fell from her face at the thought of her Stegosaurus friend. Scuffing the now ash covered ground; she spoke in a much quieter voice. "I hope Orchid's okay. Her, Digger, and Flame. I wonder how they're doing out there. Do you think they got out of the canyon all right? I hope none of them are hurt."

"I'm sure they're fine, Hyacinth," Sorrel reassured, rubbing the Apatosaurus's dark gray neck. "Flame and Orchid are big herbivores, just like you. They have horns and spikes too. They can take care of themselves and easily fend off a predator if need be."

"Right," Hyacinth mumbled, dragging her foot along the ashy ground once more, creating a deep grove. "Wow… there sure is a lot of this flaky gray stuff around here. And a lot falling from the sky too. Was that from the scary explosion, Sorrel?"

"Yep. We're near an active volcano. I'm sure this one spews quite a bit of lava and often. I'm sure the residents are used to it." Her gaze drifted to the other option to the Great Valley, noticing the heat-caused mirage disturbing the warm air. No wonder Flame had recommended taking the longer, boring path through the volcanoes rather than the shorter one that weaved through the shifting lava field beyond. "I wonder how many took that way and didn't make it…"

Hyacinth followed her human friend's gaze, only to shudder at the sight. "I don't really like super-hot things. I'm fine with this way." As the adolescent turned away from the lava field, she caught sight of something in the ash. Narrowing her eyes in question, she stepped forward. "Hey, what's that over there? It looks like something is in the…ash. Right next to the first leg of the longneck rock."

"I'll check it out," Slate offered, already approaching the ash-covered mound. Lowering his head, he exhaled. The ash swirled away at his breath, revealing several pale, round objects. His russet eyes widened at the sight that lay before him. Drawing his massive head away from the objects, he turned to Hyacinth and Sorrel. "Eggs. It's a nest."

"A nest?" Hyacinth repeated, approaching the mound. "Why is the nest out here? Where's the mother?" The gray Apatosaurus lowered her head to the seven eggs, sniffing them. She could tell the mother, wherever she was, had dug out a small nest from the ash before laying them. At least she did that much, but why was she not watching them, unless…

Hyacinth silently pressed her snout to a few of the eggs as she mused over the thought that had passed through her mind. She frowned when the eggs felt cool to her touch. Did the mother die? Or did she just leave them? Raising her head from the seven pale ovals, she turned to Slate. "Their cold. I don't think any of them are alive."

Slate sighed at the adolescent's words, nuzzling an egg himself. "Who's stupid enough to lay eggs out here? Predators could snatch them up the instant the parents leave." He drew his head away, frowning at the eggs as grief filled him once more. They reminded him too much of his own mate's nest. She had only laid one egg. Marvel's egg. They couldn't seem to warm up the egg during nesting. Slate and his mate did not know if the hatchling would make it. But he did. Maybe…these eggs were still viable.

"How could a mother leave her eggs out here all alone? She didn't even cover them." He glanced up at the sun, burning bright and hot above them. "The weather could harm them, even the sun could make them too warm. What kind of mother would do this?" He nuzzled another one of the small eggs.

"She would," Sorrel answered, pointing to another ashy mound hidden beneath the sauropod monolith. The twenty-three-foot long body blended well with the dark shadow of the massive rock. Her scales were the color of dust, with darker patches decorating her delicate body. She was still breathing, the shallowest rise and fall of her chest visible. Yet, the scent of blood emanated from her. At closer inspection, the female prosauropod was wounded. Blood pooled from her backside, soaked up by the ash she laid in.

As if hearing Sorrel's voice, the dying mother raised her head from the ashes, peach colored eyes glazed over. She had lost so much blood after the laying of her seven eggs last night. She was on her last leg. She could tell the strangers in front of her were longnecks, similar to her. As long as they were herbivores.

"Please," she whispered, voice hoarse with pain and grief. "Save them. I-I laid them last night." Her head fell to the ashy ground, eyes clenched shut. "It hurt so much. The earthquake, the storm, my herd…everything was just too much." She opened her eyes again, tears rolling down her dusty scaled cheeks. "I laid them too early. I don't want them to die. I…"

"Shh…" Slate hushed, lowering his body closer to the female's while Hyacinth laid next to the clutch of eggs. Sorrel slipped off the gray longneck's back once more, sitting next to the clutch of seven Riojasaurus eggs.

"It'll be okay," Slate comforted. "It'll be okay." As he said this he noticed something about the female that struck anger in his heart. His russet eyes slowly scanned over her small body, connecting the pieces. "You're barely an adolescent." He suddenly stood up, more anger fueling him. "Who did this to you?"

When the female did not answer, Slate's shoulders slumped. "Please tell me that you weren't stupid enough to mate this young. Your family should have warned you about mating this early in life. It could…" he trailed off. If that was the case, the female was already suffering that fate.

The female shook her head, clenching her eyes close once more as another wave of tears washed over her. "No." She gasped, eyes opening to stare up at the Apatosaurus. "It was my leader. But…it doesn't matter now. I'm dying, he doesn't care. Just, please, take care of them, please." Her eyes dropped closed as her body began to grow weaker with each breath she took. "It's not their fault. They deserve to live a good life, even if I can't take care of them, or that they have a horrible father. Save them." Her body grew limp as her last lifeblood bleed out. "Please, take care of them. Ma-maybe fi-find my herd. My-my name is Eu-Euphoria."

"Euphoria…" Slate muttered, watching as the young mother exhale her last breath. She grew still, her heat stopping as the last of her lifeblood bleed out of her. Sighing, Slate leaned forward, pressing his snout to her shoulder. After a small moment of mourning, he turned back to the two females.

"She was too young to carry eggs," Slate spoke up, walking over to where Hyacinth lay next to the clutch of seven. "It seems that her leader… forced himself onto her. With the stress of the earthquake, storm, and probably getting separated from her herd, she had them early."

"Even as premature eggs, they were too large for her," Sorrel muttered, brushing a few stray flakes of ash from the smooth, pale ovals. "They must have ripped her from the inside out. She died from blood loss and if not that, infection would have set in. I bet you if she carried them full term, she would not have been able to lay them."

"What are we going to do about the eggs?" Hyacinth asked, nuzzling one of them. "We're not going to just leave them here, are we?"

"No. I would never do that, even if they are cold. I feel like… there's a chance that some will hatch." Slate then turned to Sorrel, who was already rummaging through her hiking pack. "Do you have anything to carry them in?"

"Maybe…"

After a moment of fishing through her backpack, the young woman found a couple of small bags, that she stored a few of her essentials in. Emptying the items into her backpack, she also pulled out her parka. "I'll put four of them in one bag and three in the other, then wrap both bags in my parka. It should keep them warm enough and cushion them for the rest of the travel." With that said, Sorrel carefully placed the eggs into the small, foldable bags. Once done, she wrapped them in her parka before carefully placing them in her backpack. She did not zip it up as she climbed onto Hyacinth's back, wanting to keep a close eye on them for the rest of their journey to the Great Valley. With only about a day's walk or so left, they would be perfectly fine.

"More herd members," the female Apatosaurus sighed.

"Yeah. It just seems to be getting bigger and bigger," Sorrel said as she stroked one of the eggs, hoping they would become warm with life.

"Shall we keep going?" Slate asked, glancing to the dead Riojasaurus. "The mother's dead. Her name was Euphoria. Maybe once the eggs hatch we can form a scouting party to find her herd. I'm sure the rest of her family would want to know about these hatchlings."

Hyacinth and Sorrel nodded their heads at the male's words. Soon enough, they were walking again, down the path surrounded by volcanoes.

As they walked, Slate glanced at Sorrel protectively holding the precious cargo, mulling over the dead mother's wish. It echoed over and over in his mind. He would make sure her dying wish was granted. No female deserved to go through birthing eggs that she was too young to carry. Nor that from a male that she did not love. Still, she wanted her offspring to survive. He would make sure that all seven would hatch in the Great Valley under the care of the best parent. Maybe he would take them in himself if he could not find a good adoptive family for them. His mate would not mind, she always wanted more children. Marvel would be glad to have more siblings to play with. Yes, he would take them into his family.

 **To Guest: I may have a Spinosaurus in my story at some point, but I won't name it Lockjaw because I feel like I would be stealing DaDog's character.**

 **To Hunter: I'm not quite sure what your comment about hunting has to do with the situation in the last chapter. Flame crushed Dark Talon's head to end her suffering. Flame was not hunting her and she was hunting him for food. Each character has their own views and personality; they don't necessarily reflect my own views.**


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Daughters of Terror

Chapter Thirteen: Daughters of Terror

"Are we almost there?" Hymn asked as he walked beside Flame. "I can't take this anymore. My feet hurt." He began to lag behind only to sprint back up to Flame once the Triceratops was too far away for comfort. The adolescent tried to get Flame and Orchid to slow, but failed. The four had been traveling for several days since the incident with Dark Talon. Luckily, they had not encountered her sister, Golden Gaze. It seemed that she might have succumbed to her injury. The simple puncture wound never healed and became infected over time, painfully taking her life.

"Shut up," Flame growled, thrusting his horns at the winey Corythosaurus. He turned his blurry gaze forward, only to stop and squint up at the sight before him. "Is that…?"

"The rock shaped like a longneck!" Orchid cried out, racing towards the towering monolith.

"We're close," Flame muttered, lowering his dark brown gaze back to the ground. "Looks like a longneck, doesn't it, singer?"

"Ye-yeah…" Hymn stuttered, nodding his head. "I-it does. Wow…" He sighed, tearing his ocean blue gaze away from the mighty monolith. "I wish my mom and dad were here to see it. Stupid sharpteeth. Stupid earthshake." He pawed at a few pebbles in front of him before looking up at the monolith again. It held its head high, as if it was walking with them towards the volcanoes not far in the distance. It was as if it was their guide, pointing them in the correct direction to the Great Valley.

"Shut up with your whining over your dead parents. We already went over this. I thought you were done with this revenge thing, or didn't the last incident teach you anything? Want to try it again? I'm sure there are enough sharpteeth walking around."

"N-no." Hymn shook his head, stepping back from the brightly scaled threehorn.

"Good. Now, you can shut up for the rest of the travel. We should be in the Great Valley within a day or so."

"Yeah, yeah, stupid old threehorn," the dark brown singer muttered under his breath.

"I heard that," Flame growled, swinging his deadly brow horns at the younger male. "I'll skewer you just like that sharptooth."

Hymn only stepped back, advoiding the mock lunge from Flame. Glaring at the half-blind Triceratops, he huffed, walking towards the pathway that lead the way between the volcanos. He recognized fate footprints of other herbivores, but said nothing, only following them as Flame called out to Orchid.

"Come on, Orchid. We need to get going. We have about a day's left of traveling and then we'll be in the Great Valley. Remember, the legendary spiketail."

"Oak!" the purple Stegosaurus squealed, stomping up to where Flame stood. "Oh, you should see those…those…" she struggled to find the correct word. "Things! They are on the rock. I think thinskins made them. I don't know what else would have made them. They look so cool. It looks like some thinskins protecting a longneck from some type of big sharptooth. It's so cool. You should go look at it, Flame."

"Shut up!" Hymn suddenly shouted from where he was on the ashy pathway through the volcanoes. "I can hear you from here, spiketail. I don't want to listen to you anymore. Your voice is so annoying."

Orchid's face fell as her excitement extinguished. Shoulders dropping, she trailed behind Flame. "You should really see them though," she muttered to the threehorn.

"How about once we get settled in the Great Valley. The rock's not far from it."

"Okay…" Orchid trailed off, keeping her gaze on the ashy ground. "I wonder how Sorrel and Hyacinth are doing. I hope they are okay. I bet you they are already in the Great Valley. Oh no, they're going to meet the legendary children before I do. I won't be able to see Hyacinth and Cirrus's romance bloom at the very first moment they see each other. At least I will see Hymn and Flora get all fluster, then fight, before falling deeply in love."

"Um…Hymn's not a hornface, spiketail," Digger's sleep laden voice spoke from Orchid's back.

"Singers can still fight. I just feel like the singer will be similar to Hymn, maybe the same type. It will be a female and she will be bright blue. Like the sky."

"Why are you paring me up with some dinosaur that doesn't exist? And when did I say I would stay around you? As soon as we get into this valley, I'm ditching you."

"Why do you have to be so mean, Hymn?"

As the dark brown Corythosaurus opened his mouth to answer, he was cut off at the sound of pounding feet. "What's that?" He asked instead, dark blue eyes darting from side to side as the heavy footsteps drew nearer. Without the protection of Flame, or even Orchid, he felt extremely vulnerable. He had no defense. Heck, none of his kind were safe unless they were in herds.

"Help!" he cried, running towards Orchid and Flame.

The footsteps grew louder with each passing second. Suddenly, there was a massive shadow looming over the sprinting singer. Before Hymn could even look over his shoulder, he was tossed into the ash-filled air. He landed with a thud a few feet away, freshly spilt blood already soaked up by the ash. He gasped for air, which had been knocked out of him when he landed. His entire body ached and his left flank throbbed. What had just happened?

As Hymn raised his head to look at his three traveling companions, his heart dropped. They all stared up at something behind him, frozen in fear. The singer could see the shadow casted by the beast behind him, but he was too afraid to look up. He clenched his eyes shut, only to feel hot, slick saliva drip from the carnivore's jaws. Involuntarily, he looked up.

There, staring down at him with eyes as red as blood was a behemoth. Their scales were the color of an evergreen and underbelly like that of mustard. The Tyrannosaurs Rex loomed taller than most of their kind, possibly rivaling Frozen Wasteland in size. The gigantean lurched forward, dagger-like teeth slicing through Hymn's flesh and picking him up from the ash-covered ground.

The carnivore tossed him once more, obviously taking delight in throwing around the hadrosaur. They strode over to the broken herbivore, placing their three-talon foot on top of him. They looked up at the three other travelers, giving a mighty roar.

Orchid recoiled at the noise, stepping back from the massive green-scaled carnivore. "Sha-Sharptooth. It's Sharptooth. He's not dead…"

"No…" Flame muttered, dark brown eyes locked on the carnivore as they stepped forward, crushing Hymn's ribcage, the sound of breaking bones accompanying it. "It's his daughter."

As if understanding his words, the red-eyed female roared, charging forward, intent on killing the other two herbivores. Her massive weight shook the earth, her blood-red eyes locked on Orchid. She was the fearful one. She would not put up much of a fight. The green scaled carnivore knew those types of dinosaurs were easy targets, but they were no fun. They did not fight back. They were _too_ easy. Why would one want to kill meek prey? She would quickly kill the scared adolescent before she turned to the more difficult prey.

In mere moments, the behemoth was beside Orchid, jaws dripping with saliva and Hymn's blood. She paused for a moment, observing the broken violet plate. Something else had gotten to the Stegosaurus some time ago. Interesting. Taking a step forward, the carnivore tested Orchid, seeing if she would dart off from her frozen state. She did not. A horrible choice.

The rex lurched forward, powerful jaws clamping down on the biggest of Orchid's back plates. It was located near the one Frozen Wasteland had broken. The carnivore thrashed her head side to side, ripping the boney plate from its anchor. With each powerful jerk of her head, flesh tore away and scarlet blood welled up from the wound. Orchid's shrieks filled the air. This hurt much, much worse than when Frozen Wasteland broke her plate. There was no numbing coldness; it was just sheer, mind disorienting pain. It had not even occurred to her that she could strike the she-rex with her deadly thagomizer.

With one last jerk of her head, the carnivore ripped away the large, boney plate, watching in satisfaction as blood gushed from the fresh wound. The spiketail's screams were deafening, but she did not care. It was music to her ears. Dropping the bloodied plate, the forest green Tyrannosaurus clamped her jaws around a smaller plate on Orchid's lower back. This was somewhat of a hobby for the carnivore: torturing her prey, stripping it of its defenses. Honestly, this was her favorite: ripping plates from spiketails' backs. She did not have to worry about being stabbed through the head by a spike or horn and they were tremendously fun to rip out. She loved watching the blood pour from their wounds and their screams fill the air. Her mother would sometimes worry when she did this, but she would always reassure her mother that they were just stupid prey. They had no mind.

As the female yanked at the next plate, she felt the spiketail shift beneath her. Releasing the bleeding plate, she drew back. Stupid move. The female received a face full of what spiketails were named for, their four-spined tail. She roared, stumbling to the side, shaking her head. She could feel her own, warm blood flowing down the right side of her face. Growling, she blinked away the blood. Luckily, the spiketail's spines only grazed above and below her eye.

Orchid stared at her, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was terrified and she was in agony. She did not want to die. She wanted to be in the Great Valley with Hyacinth and Sorrel. Quaking, she watched as the forest green she-rex approached her again, intent on ending the spiketail's life for marring her face. Just as the female lunged for Orchid, Flame rushed forward, swinging his head out.

Feeling the earth shake with his charge, the carnivore turned her gapping jaws to the Triceratops. In one swift moment, she clamped her jaws down on his neck, just behind his frill, while maneuvering her body away from his deadly horns. She gnawed on his thick neck, teeth slicing though tendons and ligaments. The Triceratops stood still, frozen, his own mouth agape at the situation he was in.

"Flame!" Orchid screamed.

"What was that?" Slate asked, stopping in his tracks. He raised his long neck to the sound, russet eyes squinting into the distances. "It sounded like a scream."

"That was…" Hyacinth trailed off, heart pounding and teal eyes wide with fear. "Orchid!"

Before Slate could stop the adolescent, Hyacinth was barreling back down the ashy pathway. She cried her friend's name while Sorrel clung to the Apatosaurus' neck for dear life. The older sauropod followed suit, knowing he could not leave the two to take on whatever was harming their friends. At least he would be able to meet them now and maybe even save their lives. That would sure make an excellent impression.

As soon as they exited the canyon, the trio spotted several figures. A forest green Tyrannosaurus rex had her jaws clamped tightly to the back of Flame's neck. Orchid stood close by, shaking like a leaf in the wind as blood still gushed from her fresh wounds. The unmoving body of another herbivore lay yards away, the mauve form of Digger hidden beside its belly.

Slate rushed forward with a bellow. Feet away from the carnivore, he reared up on his hind legs, hoping to scare her off. She only stopped her chewing, blood-red eyes looking up at the towering sauropod. Seeing as the female was not going to release the threehorn from her grasp, Slate let his body crash to the ground. Unfortunately, the she-rex anticipated the move and deftly shifted her body so that only Slate's long claws on either forefoot drew blood.

Frowning, Slate let out another bellow, facing his flank towards the carnivore, cracking his tail in warning. This did the trick. The female released Flame, raising to her full height to look at Slate. Her red eyes narrowed as she took a step back. This was not what she bargained for. She could tell this male was a warrior from his muscled physic and powerful stance. And, unlike her father, she hated hunting longnecks. At least, types like the one standing in front of her: whiptails.

Just as she took another step back, the rex felt a horrible stinging pain across her back. Turning to her assaulter, she found that it was a younger, female Apatosaurus. This one would be easier to take on than the battle-hardened male. Giving a thunderous roar, she turned on the gray-scaled adolescent. But before she could even reach the female, the male's heavy weight crash across her back. Stumbling forward, she tripped over her own feet, falling to the ashy ground.

She watched Slate circled her, glaring down at her. She ignored his hateful stare, red eyes catching sight of Sorrel on Hyacinth's back. A thinskin! Maybe she would just give up on killing these stupid herbivores and take the thinskin. Her mother would be so proud of her. These creatures always interested the predator's dark scaled mother. Maybe she would try extra hard not to kill this one. The last few she brought home were quite mutilated and her mother was not too happy about it.

As the female Tyrannosaurus struggled onto her feet, tiny forearms no help in the situation; a thunderous roar filled the air. Looking up, she grinned, fangs stained with blood. Her darker sister had arrived. **"Hey, Hushed Death,"** she greeted, now on her feet.

The dark green, almost black rex only huffed in reply, her amber gaze raking over the destruction her sister had caused. **"You're an idiot, Twisted Ivy."** Her voice was deep unlike her sister's shrill tone. **"Finish off the hornface and bring it back to Mother. I'll take the singer."** She turned away, steps slowl and heavy.

" **What? You're going to make me take on this big bad longneck on my own? You know I don't like whiptails."**

" **Does it look like I care?"** the dark green female picked up Hymn's broken body, his life having passed long ago. Digger scuttled out of the way, unable to do anything about the behemoth.

"Hymn…" Orchid whimpered before her eyes darted back to the red-eyed female and male Apatosaurus. They were circling one another, the sauropod's tail lashing back and forth while the forest green Tyrannosaurus bared her blood stained teeth. It was going to get ugly real fast.

"Orchid!" Hyacinth shouted, rushing to the purple Stegosaurus' side. "What happened?" The gray adolescent scanned her friend's back, horrified at the sight of the bloody gouge where one of her largest plates had been.

"Th-the sha-sharptooth. Fla-Flame said sh-she wa-was Shar-Sharptooth's daughter." Orchid stuttered, tears once again streaming down her cheeks. "Sh-She ki-killed Hymn! An-and she's-she's going to k-k-kill Flame and your-your fri-friend!"

"No she's not." Sorrel announced from atop Hyacinth. "Slate knows exactly what he's doing. He's the third in command of his herd and leader of the warriors. I'm sure he can take her down."

However, Sorrel had spoken too soon, Slate's agony laced bellow filling their ears. The trio turned to see Twisted Ivy's powerful jaws locked onto his back. Both trashed, Slate trying to dislodge the persistent carnivore while Twisted Ivy tried to rip a hunk of his flesh from his back, much like what her father had done to his sister. As their battle cries filled the ashy air, in the distance, another raged filled roar mingled…


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Return

Chapter Fourteen: Return

In a flash of dull red scales, the owner of the roar slammed into Twisted Ivy's leg. Twisted Ivy's leg buckled, her heavy body falling, causing her to lose her grip on the blue-gray Apatosaurus' back. Her massive fangs raked over his flesh as she fell with a dense thud. The Tyrannosaurus rex lay on the ground, stunned, jaws agape. She gasped for breath, throbbing hide leg kicking out at the nearby, snorting hornface. She knew it was near and was ready to charge her again. The forest green rex kicked out her hind foot once more, talons clacking with the snorting ceratopsian's brow horns. This seemed to trigger the waiting hornface to attack Twisted Ivy again.

Before the she-rex could even roll to her feet, the hornface charged forward. However, before its brow horns could even graze her sleek green scales, Twisted Ivy's darker green sister caught the ceratopsian by the horns. Standing over her sister, Hushed Death growled lowly, amber eyes glaring into the huffing female Triceratops' dark brown ones, massive jaws firmly clamped on the brow horns. It was like each one was challenging the other to make the first move. The Triceratops was the first to crack. She thrusted her head forward, ready to jam her sharp horns into the back of the carnivore's mouth.

This action only resulted in Hushed Death stepping back, letting her head jerk up with the motion and preventing the herbivore's horns from piercing even the roof of her mouth. The dark green Tyrannosaurus rex took another step back, away from her sister's still prone body. With each step, she tugged the dull red ceratopsian with her. The threehorn was stubborn, she was not giving up without a fight. As Hushed Death dragged her away from Twisted Ivy, the adolescent threehorn tossed her head side-to-side, trying to rid her horns of Hushed Death's jaws.

When the pair were several meters away, the solid dark green carnivore finally released the Triceratops. The adolescent herbivore shook her head, snorting and huffing. When she no longer felt the carnivore's jaws still clamped down on her precious horns, she turned to the looming behemoth. Racking a forepaw over the ashy ground, she snorted, lowering her head to the ground, flaunting her mismatched brow horns.

Hushed Death quirked a scaly eye ridge at the herbivore. Now that she had a good look at the adolescent, she noticed quite a few strange features. Her brow horns were two different colors. The right one a milky cream color, like most horn faces her age. The other was pure white, like freshly fallen snow, similar to a newly hatched horn face. The Triceratops' frill was even stranger. Part of it was the same pearly white color as her left horn, not covered in any skin or dull red scales. Then, there was the right side of her face. It was marred with an ugly gash, her empty eye socket clearly havening been sown shut only weeks beforehand. The last, most interesting feature, was the rune caved just below the gash. It was the one that activated the dominate ability within every dinosaur that walked this land. She was a Scarcarrier, and a newly made one at that.

"Impale! Hyacinth shouted, flabbergasted to see the dull red threehorn whom had left her, Orchid, and Sorrel during a snow storm weeks ago.. Not only was the longneck surprise to see the Triceratops, but that, somehow, her left horn was no longer missing and her frill was partially healed. Hyacinth stepped forward, watching as the carnivore and herbivore stared each other down. Out of the corner of her eye, the gray Apatosaurus spotted movement. It was Twisted Ivy. She was finally on her feet. And ready to kill. "Impale, watch out!"

At Hyacinth's voice, the dull red herbivore swung her head toward the sound of pounding feet. Twisted Ivy easily maneuvered out of the way of her deadly horns. The forest green rex stood by Impale's right flank, lurching her mightily jaws forward. They clamped down on the back of the adolescent's neck, like she had down to Flame only minutes ago. However, to the surprise of everyone watching, it was not Impale who cried out in agony, but Twisted Ivy.

The forest green Tyrannosaurus rex instantly released Impale, stumbling back, her mouth bloodied. Her howl of pain echoed over the ashy landscape, causing any nearby dinosaur to scatter at the sound of her roar. The sudden burst of pain was numbed but the adrenaline coursing through her blood. Glaring at the dull red herbivore, she spat out serval of her prized teeth. She even spotted one lodged in Impale's hide. **"What the hell are you, threehorn?"**

" **Are you blind? It's a Scarcarrier, sister,"** Hushed Death growled, standing beside her lighter green sister. **"See the strange mark of her face, just below her damaged eye."** She gestured with her large snout. **"And you know it can't understand you, right? Idiot."** Hushed Death huffed, stepping away from Twisted Ivy and glancing to the others watching the battle. There was the older, wounded threehorn. She could not tell if he was alive or dead. There was so much blood covering him and soaking into the ashy flakes that covered the ground. The warrior Apatosaurus still stood strong, neck lowered while blood flowed heavily from his wounds. He was ready to attack at any moment. The spiketail was in similar condition, wounded but would clearly survive. Then there was the adolescent female Apatosaurus with the thinskin on her back and a tiny crestbeak at her feet. None of them were wounded.

" **Whatever. Not like they have a language anyway,"** Twisted Ivy muttered, glaring down at Impale. She spat out a blob of dark, coagulated blood before staking forward, ready to kill the threehorn. How dare it disrespect her, the daughter of the great Sharptooth. She was a legend in her own right and was growing to have the same title as her father: The Terror of the Mysterious Beyond. This would be just another kill to put on her list. She could tell her little brother all about this strange threehorn and how hard it was to kill.

The Triceratops only stared up at her, a smug expression painted on her face. She then lowered her head, snorting and scraping her paw along the ground. She charged forward, not letting Twisted Ivy make the first move. Just as she thrusted her horns forward, the she-rex stepped just inches away from Impale's deadly horns. Still, the carnivore collapsed to the ground once more, the herbivore's thick skull having collided with her other leg. With both legs battered and bruise, it was a struggle to stand. Huffing and grunting, the forest green Tyrannosaurus rex rocked her body side to side, trying to get a foothold once more. Her tiny, two clawed arms, no help whatsoever.

Just as Twisted Ivy found a foothold, Impale rushed forward, pure white brow horn aimed for the predator's eye. She was going to skewer the rex through her blood-red eye and right though her brain. However, when the Triceratops was only inches away from Twisted Ivy, Hushed Death came to the rescue once more. With a mighty roar, the darker green female clamped her jaws down on Impale's tail, careful not to bite too deep and suffer the same fate as her sister. She needed to get this vicious herbivore away from her sister before it killed her.

Dragging Impale away from Twisted Ivy's prone form, she could feel the dull red Triceratops twist in her grip. As Impale twisted away, brandishing her deadly horns, Hushed Death was forced to release her. The carnivore stepped back, huffing with exertion and frustration. Her amber eyes searched the herbivore's scar riddled body. It had a fighting spirit, like most hornfaces. It was also reckless and seemed to think she were invincible. Narrowing her eyes, Hushed Death took another step back, growling lowly. Maybe she could at least scare it off.

With a thunderous roar, Hushed Death lunged forward, jaws latching onto the dull red herbivore's frill. Just like before, she dragged the adolescent farther away from her sister, deep growls rumbling from her chest. However, only a few steps away from her lighter green sister, a horrible pain penetrated Hushed Death's mouth. It was like spikes had stabbed through the roof of her mouth. Releasing the herbivore, Hushed Death reeled back, blood dripping from her parted jaws.

The dark green, almost black, Tyrannosaurus glared at Impale's bloody frill. None of that blood was the herbivore's. Hushed Death quickly noticed what had caused her mouth to bleed: Impale's epoccipital. The normally blunt bony protrusions on the edge of its frill was now long and sharp, like that of a crownfrill. Narrowing her eyes in confusion, Hushed Death took another step back, growling lowly. This must be its ability, the ability manifested due to the rune carved in the herbivore's right cheek. What was it? To grow horns? No. It had to be more than that, since her sister had broken her teeth clamping down on the threehorn's neck. Whatever it was, this herbivore was dangerous.

Taking another step back, Hushed Death glanced to her sister, whom had finally gotten to her feet. The forest green she-rex glared at her darker sister. Her legs quivered with her massive weight, bruised, weakened and in pain. Twisted Ivy turned her burning, blood-red gaze to Impale. All she wanted to do was kill the threehorn who had wounded her. Now, she could barely walk and would not be able to eat properly for a week, waiting for her new teeth to grow in. She stepped forward, only for her leg to almost buckle underneath her.

Hushed Death nudge her sister, helping her balance. **"We're done with this meal. Leave it be."** Hushed Death glanced to the still waiting threehorn. The she-rex had never met a hornface that would let another dinosaur touch them, let alone a thinskin in order to create a rune. Even then, why would they let someone painfully carve the mark into their flesh before activating it, which was almost as painful as dipping one's foot into lava. At least, that was how her mother describe the painful process. But most of the time, the manifested ability it was worth it. The dark green rex even thought about getting the special activating rune herself, but she had never come across a thinskin or even a dinosaur that possessed the ability to do so.

Snorting, Impale thrusted her head forward, flaunting her newly grown epoccipital. Hushed Death growled lowly, but made sure her sister would not lunge at the taunting herbivore. She did not need her dead, nor her mother roaring at her for letting her sister be killed by a simple hornface that was not even full grown. Letting out another low growl, she turned to her battered and bruised sister. **"Come. I don't want to mess with this hornface any longer. I'm sure our little brother and mother found something to eat. Besides, we have the singer."**

Twisted Ivy only bared her bloodied, broken teeth at the Triceratops. Huffing in annoyance, the lighter green female turned away from the herbivores, following her sister as Hushed Death picked up the dead singer and stalked away. She knew that it was best just to leave them be since she could barely walk with her bruised legs, nor could she inflict deadly bite wounds with several broken teeth and a throbbing jaws. Still, she would have taken joy in killing every one of them.

Impale watched the sisters leave until their massive, green scaled forms were no longer visible. Snorting, she turned to Flame. She eyed his wounded form, dark brown eyes narrowing. For a long moment, the dull red Triceratops just stood where she was, watching as the bright-scaled male's sides heaved outwards with each intake of breath. To any other dinosaur, it was seen as a miracle that he was still alive, but to Impale, it was nothing. She believed that any ceratopsian could survive such a wound like that, especially a threehorn.

Snorting in annoyance, Impale strode forward. "Get up. They're gone. Stop acting weak. You're a threehorn. We are the best."

When he did not move, she shoved her sharp nose horn into his side. "What? Are you that old? Get up. Stop showing disgrace to our kind."

"Shut up, little threehorn," Flame grunted. His eyes opened ever-so-slightly to view her dull red form. "We hornfaces aren't as strong and powerful as you think." He shifted his limbs beneath him, slowly heaving himself to his shaking legs. He clenched his eyes shut for a moment, the massive amount of blood he had lost causing him to feel lightheaded. When the dizziness faded, he opened his eyes once more.

Everything was blurry, but he could make out the mismatched horns of the adolescent standing in front of him. He frowned in confusion as he spotted the long epoccipital and missing, right eye. "You're a threehorn?" he croaked out. "You don't look like any threehorn, I've ever seen."

Impale snorted at his comment, turning away from Flame. Slowly, her elongated epoccipital retracted to normal size. Shaking her head at the renewed lightness of her head, she turned back to Flame. "Better?"

The orange-scaled Triceratops only grunted in reply. He weakly turned back to the other five travelers. Slate stood over them, barely hindered by the wound on his back as he tried to comfort the sobbing spiketail. Sorrel clung to Hyacinth's neck, dark brown eyes wide at the events that had just happened. Not only did they just meet the daughters of Sharptooth, the former Terror of the Mysterious Beyond, Impale had come to their rescue. Digger sat in Sorrel's lap, having climbed up Hyacinth's leg to reach her.

"Hymn!" Orchid cried. "They killed him! They killed him! He was supposed to carry on his parents' song. He was supposed to have a family. He was supposed to live happily in the Great Valley with us."

"I don't know how happy he would have been the Great Valley," Flame muttered, slowly making his way towards the ashy pathway Slate and Hyacinth had previously stumbled down. "Didn't seem happy about it whenever we mentioned it. Still would have preferred to kill those sickleclaws even though he was scared of any type of sharptooth."

"You're still carrying that thing around?" Impale asked from behind the group, eyeing Sorrel with distain. "Thought you would have gotten rid of it after I left. Thinskins always cause trouble. Vile beasts."

Hyacinth turned to stare at the dull red herbivore in disbelief. How could she say such a thing?

"Then what carved that rune into you cheek?" Slate asked, helping Flame walk. "Surely not another threehorn. What else would have made that rune with such accuracy?"

Impale ignored the Apatosaurus's question. She charged forward in front of the group, taking the role as leader the rest of the way to the Great Valley.

Several hours had pass before the group of seven were standing before a massive cave. It was nighttime, and throughout the journey, everyone had caught up on who was who. Impale still stood at the front of the group, having only exchanged a few words throughout the last leg. Now, she stood in the river that flowed from the mouth of the cave, eyeing the flowering vines that dangled over the entrance.

"Come on, it's in here." Impale entered the cave, splashing through the flowing river.

It did not take long before all seven travelers were standing on a cliff, overlooking the Great Valley. It was as magnificent as the legends told, if not more so. Everywhere the eye could see, there was lush foliage and the tallest trees. Rivers laced through the land, bringing fresh, cool water to every dinosaur. There were herbivores of all types and even small omnivores darting between the, mostly, gentle giants. A wonderful place indeed.

"The Great Valley," Hyacinth breathed.

"Yeah…" Sorrel added. "We finally made it."

 **Crownfrill: Styracosaurus**

 **Thanks Julian, Marble, and the Guests for commenting!**

 **Check out the Surian game on kicker starter projects/1379624404/saurian-an-open-world-dinosaur-survival-experience?ref=hero_thanks**

 **Woot! Woot! Finally done with this book and even finished it just before school ended. Thanks everyone for reading it and commenting :). Now, I'll finally be able to get to the good stuff. Next book: meeting the Gang of Five! More humans! And tons of plot twists! Woot!**

 **Now, the third book, Sincere Heart, won't be posted until July-ish. I have a 10-day Costa Rica trip in the middle of June along with graduation parties, band stuff, and appointments. But, hopefully, once everything gets settled down, I'll be able to write. Though, I am going to be working on my originals, as I haven't had much time to do so during school, so I don't know how often the next book will be updated during the summer.**


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